Northern California couple arrested for manslaughter in fentanyl-related death, police say
(FOX40.COM) — A couple from Redding was arrested on Tuesday after an investigation revealed they were responsible for the death of a 20-year-old Redding man by selling him a “lethal amount” of fentanyl nearly two years ago.
The Redding Police Department said it identified Michael Horner, 29, and his wife Sandra Valenzuela, 30, as the people who delivered and sold fentanyl to 20-year-old Blake Bauder, who was found severely burned on the 3400 block of Capricorn Way in Redding on Sept. 27, 2022.
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Around 2:15 p.m. on Sept. 27, 2022, the Redding Fire Department received reports of a residential fire, and upon arrival, found a dead man inside who was later identified as Bauder.
“Based on the suspicious nature of the incident, Redding police detectives responded to investigate,” the Redding Police Department said on Facebook.
Upon conducting their investigation, police said they learned that Bauder ingested a lethal amount of fentanyl and while holding a torch, lit the residence on fire. Detectives said they were also able to identify Horner and Valenzuela as the fentanyl dealers and filed felony charges against both suspects.
On Tuesday, Redding detectives found and arrested the couple and booked them into a Shasta County jail for possession of narcotics for sale and involuntary manslaughter.
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The arrest came two days before another Northern California county, Placer County, delivered the second murder sentence in California for a fentanyl-related death. It also came one day before deputies in Sacramento arrested two people who were found with a quarter-pound of fentanyl who had previous felony warrants out of Placer County.
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