In a major crackdown on drug-associated fatalities, the Morongo Basin Station deputies were called to a distressing scene at a residence in Yucca Valley on May 18, where 63-year-old David Tarbell was found deceased, due to a suspected overdose, an initial report released by the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department detailed the circumstances surrounding the response to a medical aid request at 57090 Twentynine Palms Outer Highway.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Overdose Response Team (ORT), taking charge of the investigation, later confirmed the cause of Tarbell's death as acute toxicity from Fentanyl and Alprazolam, these findings ascertained by the efforts of the San Bernardino County Coroner's Division. In the ensuing investigation, Tyler Lee Davis a 31-year-old Yucca Valley resident with a history of narcotics sales and a pending warrant from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, was pegged as the supplier of the lethal drugs.
Following an investigation that stretched over two months, Davis was apprehended on July 23, with the district attorney subsequently filing murder charges against him, this after he was initially booked and detained at West Valley Detention Center with bail set at a staggering one million dollars the arrest and charges represent a growing trend of law enforcement agencies holding drug suppliers criminally accountable for their role in overdose deaths.
For further information on this case, Detective Stephanie Garcia from the Gangs/Narcotics Division, who can be contacted at phone number (909) 387-8400, is listed as the referent on this case, the severity of this issue magnified by an ongoing opioid epidemic that has continued to challenge communities across the state and nation, bringing forth a renewed urgency in addressing the root causes and facilitating adequate responses.
