Fresno County's fentanyl awareness campaign expands following historic guilty verdict

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A stark connection is present putting everyone connected notice, informing that selling fentanyl could beryllium charged arsenic murder.

"Our caller billboard, which says, 'you sell, your cell,'" District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp said.

The run includes 50 billboards connected streets from Firebaugh to Selma and Fresno.

They volition look successful English and Spanish and scope astir 300,000 adults per week.

"The connection is bash not merchantability fentanyl," Smittcamp said. "We are tirelessly going to proceed to amended this community."

The caller billboards travel weeks aft a region assemblage recovered Cassidy Gonzales blameworthy of execution for knowingly selling a deadly dose of fentanyl.

She present faces up to beingness successful prison.

"We privation to marque radical alert that the penalties to merchantability it are getting truthful overmuch stronger present based connected the cognition that we have," Smittcamp said.

Billboards archetypal warned astir the dangers of utilizing fentanyl years ago, and since then, deadly overdoses successful Fresno County person fallen astir 30 percent.

"Eventually, we'd similar to get to less Narcan applications, less radical addicted retired successful the streets," Fresno Police Chief Mindy Casto said.

The Fresno Police Department has a specialized fentanyl effect team.

The officers spell to thousands of fentanyl-related calls each year, and the detectives accidental the fentanyl is becoming stronger, and users are processing a tolerance.

"It takes much Narcan than it ever did earlier successful bid to reverse, if we are, successful fact, capable to reverse (it)," Casto said.

The caller billboards effort to halt the travel of the cause arsenic they people the dealers.

They volition enactment up until aboriginal July.

"I deliberation we conscionable person to support going and support pushing," Smittcamp said.

County prosecutors are already pursuing execution charges against different alleged trader pursuing the blameworthy verdict past month.

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