Sacramento County’s first fentanyl murder suspect charged, tied to Folsom 24-year-old’s death [The Sacramento Bee]

Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho has filed the first murder case in the county stemming from a fentanyl death.

The suspect, Ronald James Ehman, 44, was formally charged Tuesday afternoon with murder in the death of 24-year-old Mary Milagro Siryj of Folsom on July 26.

Folsom police announced Ehman’s arrest Tuesday morning. Police said Ehman provided fentanyl to Siryj. He remains in custody in Sacramento County Main Jail without bail.

“This is the first case that we have filed related to a fentanyl poisoning,” Ho told The Sacramento Bee on Tuesday.

A week ago, police responded to the 1000 block of Folsom Ranch Drive shortly before 7 a.m., where authorities say Siryj was found unresponsive. Folsom police arrested Ehman two days later.

In a Sacramento Superior Court hearing, Ehman was wearing orange jail garb and appeared calm and stood with his arms behind his back as the single charge was read by Court Commissioner Alin Cintean.

Ehman will appear next in court on Aug. 9.

Public records indicate Ehman is a Rancho Cordova resident. He does not have a criminal history in Sacramento, according to online court records.

Siryj’s death came the same day that Elk Grove police arrested a man they say secretly placed fentanyl in his wife’s food before she died in January.

Glennis Douglas Smith, 48, was arrested on suspicion of homicide in the death of his wife, 49-year-old Jennifer Ann Smith-Floyd.

Smith is being held without bail at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center on a murder charge and arson and insurance fraud charges from when police said he burned the couple’s travel trailer.

The charge comes as California prosecutors are focusing more weapons on fighting fentanyl overdoses, including murder charges against people suspected of supplying the drug to victims who later died.

“From January 2021 to June 2023, nearly 400 people have died from fentanyl in Sacramento County,” Ho’s office said in a statement. “For several years, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office has been forward-thinking and proactive in trying to prevent fentanyl deaths.

“In the past year alone, the office’s countywide ‘1PillCanKillSac’ Fentanyl Public Awareness Campaign has reached 12 million people through PSAs on social media, streaming TV and audio sites, digital billboards and public transit. In this same time frame, more than 14,000 people have visited the office’s 1PillCanKillSac.com site, which is a central website for fentanyl information and resources within the county.

“The office has also participated in 41 school assemblies and several parent meetings about the dangers of fentanyl. In addition to these awareness efforts, District Attorney Thien Ho is spearheading the creation of a Fentanyl Response Team, where specially trained investigators will be able to respond to fentanyl deaths to gather critical evidence and a specialized vertical prosecutor will be assigned to handle these cases.

“The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office remains committed to both efforts of preventing more fentanyl deaths and holding accountable those who knowingly distribute and sell deadly fentanyl.

“Efforts like those of the Folsom Police Department to identify and investigate fentanyl deaths will help ensure victims of fentanyl poisoning and overdoses receive justice.”

Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire is credited with being the first prosecutor in the state to win a murder conviction in a case involving fentanyl.

Nathaniel Cabacungan, 21, was convicted of second-degree murder July 7 after prosecutors say he provided the deadly synthetic opioid to a 15-year-old Roseville-area girl who died in June 2022.

Gire’s office also has filed murder charges in two other fentanyl deaths from last year. Both of those cases are pending.

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