Man linked to counterfeit pill faces murder charge in Northern California woman’s death

Nearly a year after a Shingle Springs woman died from a fentanyl-laced counterfeit pill, El Dorado County authorities have arrested a man suspected of selling that pill and charged him with her death.

The suspect, whom the Sheriff’s Office does not name, is identified in jail records as Kamaal Babatunde Agboola Yusuf, 22, of Elk Grove. He is being held at the El Dorado County Jail.

After the woman’s death in May 2022, the Western El Dorado Narcotics Enforcement Team opened an investigation into the circumstances of her overdose.

“In this incident the victim ingested a counterfeit pill that she believed to be authentic,” the Sheriff’s Office said. “In reality this counterfeit pill contained a lethal amount of fentanyl and the victim died as a result.”

After an “extensive” investigation, detectives arrested Yusuf at his parents’ home on Monday morning. He is being held on suspicion of second-degree murder.

“... Furnishing fentanyl can result in murder charges in the event of a death,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

This story was originally published January 23, 2023 at 6:49 PM.