A man who supplied fentanyl-laced pills that caused the death of his 29-year-old friend in Norco was sentenced on Thursday, Jan. 16, to eight years in state prison. Jacob Austin Parr, 45, last week admitted to one count of voluntary manslaughter, as well as two counts of transportation or selling of controlled substances, under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange, prosecutors dropped a charge of second-degree murder. Parr supplied the pills that caused the death of Isaak Quintin Ruiz. According to a defense brief filed in April, Parr and Ruiz had been friends for several years; Parr had sold narcotics to the victim periodically in the four months prior to his death. Testimony by sheriff’s investigators during the defendant’s 2023 preliminary hearing indicated Ruiz had attempted to kick his drug habit, trying to detox in a rehabilitation program, but he continued to struggle with opiates. Court papers said Parr was endeavoring to put his life on track and quit using or selling drugs, but when Ruiz couldn’t find a seller, he turned to the defendant. In a text exchange between the victim and defendant in February 2022, Parr warned, “You gotta be careful, bro’. This (expletive) will kill you if you haven’t used in a while,” according to the brief. At one point, before selling fentanyl to Ruiz, the defendant offered him Narcan, an opioid antagonist that can arrest the effects of fentanyl and save victims who have taken a potentially lethal amount, the brief said. Ruiz didn’t accept. On the night of April 22, 2022, Parr met Ruiz at a Norco restaurant, selling him the synthetic opiate, then the two left in Parr’s car and drove to a nearby 76 Station on Sixth Street, where Ruiz stepped into the men’s room and locked the door, according to investigators. Parr drove away. The victim consumed the fentanyl he’d purchased and passed out on the floor. He was there for two hours before a clerk unlocked the door to discover him dead, according to investigators. Since February 2021, the District Attorney’s Office has charged more than 30 people countywide in connection with fentanyl poisonings. Public health statistics show there were 550 known fentanyl-related fatalities countywide in 2023, a 9% increase from 2022, when there were 503. Fentanyl is manufactured in overseas labs, principally in China, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which says the drug is smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border by cartels. It’s 80 to100 times more potent than morphine and can be mixed into any number of street narcotics and prescription drugs, without a user knowing. Ingestion of only two milligrams can be fatal. Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans 18 to 45 years old. Related Articles Courts | Lyft rider jumped from car window, and driver denies responsibility because he was unconscious Courts | Tyler Skaggs’ wrongful death trial against Los Angeles Angels delayed until September Courts | Ex-Riverside official accused of lewd acts on children remains jailed Courts | Riverside County sheriff’s Trump assassination allegations ‘a lie,’ Las Vegas man says Courts | Jurupa Valley man gets death penalty for 1998 strangulation murder of wife