Crime & Safety

Cathedral City Man Connected To Fentanyl Poisoning Death

The Riverside County Fire Department's Overdose Death Investigations & Narcotics Unit identified a suspect in a January fentanyl poisoning.

Riley Hagar was identified as being the suspect responsible for selling the Fentanyl that killed O’Brien, Riverside County Sheriff's Department says.
Riley Hagar was identified as being the suspect responsible for selling the Fentanyl that killed O’Brien, Riverside County Sheriff's Department says. (Photo: Riverside County Sheriff's Department)

CATHEDRAL CITY, CA — A Cathedral City man was behind bars Thursday for the alleged killing of a 22-year-old man who died of fentanyl poisoning in January.

Riley Jacob Hagar, 25, was arrested on Wednesday by the Riverside County Fire Department's Overdose Death Investigations and Narcotics Unit on suspicion of murder, according to Sgt. Ryan Marcuse with the sheriff's department.

Marcuse said that deputies responded to a call in Rancho Mirage about an unresponsive male on Jan. 1, around 12:30 p.m., in the 69000 block of Highway 111, where Travis O'Brien was found dead due to fentanyl poisoning.

Find out what's happening in Palm Desertfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Hagar was identified as a suspect and taken into custody on Wednesday, according to Marcuse. He was allegedly also in possession of narcotics and out on bail for an unrelated charge.

He was being held at the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio on $1 million bail.

Find out what's happening in Palm Desertfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The investigation was ongoing and anyone with information was asked to call Investigator Hollingsworth at 951-955-1700.