The case against a 26-year-old San Mateo man charged with second-degree murder for allegedly providing fentanyl to a woman who overdosed and died is set for trial Oct. 23, San Mateo County Deputy District Attorney Shin-Mee Chang said.
Trial proceedings against Pedro Arellano, who allegedly provided the victim, 26-year-old San Mateo resident Adrienne Dahbour, with the fentanyl that led to her death on Jan. 4, 2025, come after the defendant rejected the DA’s voluntary manslaughter plea deal, Chang said.
That plea would have come with a maximum sentence of 11 years in state prison, Chang said.
Dahbour was discovered unconscious by her mother Jan. 5, and her cause of death was fentanyl intoxication.
Arellano did not sell drugs, only made the purchase for himself and the victim, who he told police was his girlfriend, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said previously. He is allegedly a fentanyl addict himself who had overdosed before and was aware of the dangers of the drug.
On the occasion of one of those overdoses, the San Mateo Police Department had admonished Arellano that fentanyl was deadly and that it could lead, in the future, to a murder prosecution should he provide it to another person who died, according to Wagstaffe.
Dahbour had also overdosed twice before, Wagstaffe said previously.
The San Mateo Police Department began issuing those warnings in 2024, but they’ve become statewide policy following the passage of Proposition 36, designed to crack down on fentanyl and shoplifting.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.