RivCo Mom Pleads Guilty To Murder In Baby Daughter's Fentanyl Death

NORCO, CA — A 32-year-old Norco mother who allowed her 17-month-old daughter to ingest a fatal dose of fentanyl will serve a sentence of 15 years to life behind bars, a judge said last week.

In a plea agreement reached Thursday with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, Jennifer Johanna Allen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the death of her child identified in court documents as "J.A."

In exchange for Allen's admission, prosecutors dropped a child cruelty count, as well as a sentence-enhancing great bodily injury allegation. During a hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Superior Court Judge Matthew Perantoni certified the terms of the plea deal and imposed the sentence stipulated by law.

The investigation into Allen began at about 3:30 p.m. May 9 when sheriff's deputies were called to the 100 block of 8th Street in Norco. When deputies arrived, they found "J.A." who was not breathing.

Deputies and Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department crews performed live-saving measures, but the child could not be revived and was pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff's department reported.

Sheriff's investigators believed the death was suspicious.

"During the course of the investigation, evidence was obtained showing fentanyl played a role in the juvenile’s death," according to the sheriff's department.

Allen was taken into custody without incident. She had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

Riverside County has been aggressive in pursuing second-degree murder charges in fentanyl investigations that involve death. More than 20 cases are pending countywide in which charges have been filed, though authorities argue more prosecutions could occur if California had legal tools in place.

State legislators on both sides of the aisle have tried to get a law in place that would allow prosecutors to file second-degree murder charges under the "Watson murder rule" in some fentanyl deaths.

The rule, if passed into law, would require that a fentanyl distributor convicted on any first offense related to the drug receive a written warning. The signed paperwork would ensure a paper trail proving a convict knows that providing fentanyl to another person is dangerous to human life and could lead to death. A similar rule exists for convicted drunken drivers.

—Patch Editor Toni McAllister and City News Service contributed to this report.