Source: Office of United States Attorneys

SAN DIEGO – Jonathan Tyler Gauthier pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he supplied the fentanyl that caused the deaths of S.M.G. on September 7, 2022, and J.A.W. on December 24, 2022.

According to the plea agreement, on September 7, 2022, at approximately 5:50 a.m., San Diego Police officers responded to a residence in Hillcrest. When officers arrived, they found 24-year-old S.M.G. deceased in his upstairs bedroom. A review of S.M.G.’s phone revealed a lengthy history of drug purchases from Gauthier, starting in at least 2019.

According to evidence collected from cell phones and witness interviews, S.M.G. traveled from his home in Hillcrest to the defendant’s location in La Jolla in the late afternoon on Sept. 6, 2022. Gauthier warned S.M.G. that he was selling a potent batch of fentanyl. At 8:49 p.m., Gauthier texted S.M.G.: “Ur being careful.” At 9:12 p.m., S.M.G. responded “Yes.” S.M.G. was not seen alive after he went to his bedroom at 9:30 p.m.

On December 24, 2022, at approximately 4:29 a.m., San Diego Police officers responded to a residence in the North Clairemont area of the City of San Diego. When officers arrived, firefighters were attempting to revive J.A.W., a 27-year-old male. J.A.W. was pronounced dead at 5:02 a.m.

A family member had last seen J.A.W. alive on December 23, 2022, at 9:30 p.m., and she had checked on him at 4 a.m. when she noticed the light on his bedroom. Next to his body were a piece of foil with burnt residue on it and a white pipe with a charred blue pill on its tip. On the floor next to J.A.W.’s bed was a small, clear bag that contained eight blue pills, each marked with “M30.” Subsequent testing determined that the pills contained fentanyl.

According to evidence, including information from cell phones, social media and witness interviews, J.A.W. began to message the defendant on December 18, 2022, seeking to purchase “blues,” which are counterfeit pills often containing fentanyl. Over the course of the next four days, J.A.W. and Gauthier messaged about the purchase until settling on a price of $80 for 10 blues. On December 23, 2022, J.A.W. arranged to meet at Gauthier’s storage unit to complete the purchase. J.A.W. left his family’s holiday party at 2 p.m., picked up the drugs at the storage unit and returned home at 4 p.m.

Gauthier’s sentencing is scheduled for May 30, 2025, at 9 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Gordon and David Fawcett.

Special Agents and Task Force Officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Overdose Response Team and the Fentanyl Abatement and Suppression Team (FAST) jointly led this investigation.

The Overdose Response Team is an ongoing effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the San Diego Police Department, the La Mesa Police Department, National Guard Counterdrug Task Force and the California Department of Health Care Services to investigate and prosecute the distribution of dangerous illegal drugs—fentanyl in particular—that result in overdose deaths. The Drug Enforcement Administration created the Overdose Response Team as a response to the increase in overdose deaths in San Diego County.

HSI San Diego FAST is a multiagency task force comprising state, local, and federal partners and was first established in August 2022 focusing on the disruption and dismantlement of criminal organizations that smuggle and distribute fentanyl within San Diego County. HSI’s FAST targets fentanyl smuggling and distribution networks to counter the rising overdose rate and decrease the availability and accessibility of fentanyl.

DEFENDANTS                                             Case Number 24-CR-1383-JLS                               

Jonathan Tyler Gauthier                                 Age: 26                                   San Diego, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Distribution of Fentanyl

21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)

Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison (per count)

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Drug Enforcement Administration

Homeland Security Investigations

San Diego Police Department

California National Guard Counterdrug Task Force

California Department of Health Care Services

La Mesa Police Department

San Diego County District Attorney’s Office

*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

SAN DIEGO – Jonathan Tyler Gauthier pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he supplied the fentanyl that caused the deaths of S.M.G. on September 7, 2022, and J.A.W. on December 24, 2022.

According to the plea agreement, on September 7, 2022, at approximately 5:50 a.m., San Diego Police officers responded to a residence in Hillcrest. When officers arrived, they found 24-year-old S.M.G. deceased in his upstairs bedroom. A review of S.M.G.’s phone revealed a lengthy history of drug purchases from Gauthier, starting in at least 2019.

According to evidence collected from cell phones and witness interviews, S.M.G. traveled from his home in Hillcrest to the defendant’s location in La Jolla in the late afternoon on Sept. 6, 2022. Gauthier warned S.M.G. that he was selling a potent batch of fentanyl. At 8:49 p.m., Gauthier texted S.M.G.: “Ur being careful.” At 9:12 p.m., S.M.G. responded “Yes.” S.M.G. was not seen alive after he went to his bedroom at 9:30 p.m.

On December 24, 2022, at approximately 4:29 a.m., San Diego Police officers responded to a residence in the North Clairemont area of the City of San Diego. When officers arrived, firefighters were attempting to revive J.A.W., a 27-year-old male. J.A.W. was pronounced dead at 5:02 a.m.

A family member had last seen J.A.W. alive on December 23, 2022, at 9:30 p.m., and she had checked on him at 4 a.m. when she noticed the light on his bedroom. Next to his body were a piece of foil with burnt residue on it and a white pipe with a charred blue pill on its tip. On the floor next to J.A.W.’s bed was a small, clear bag that contained eight blue pills, each marked with “M30.” Subsequent testing determined that the pills contained fentanyl.

According to evidence, including information from cell phones, social media and witness interviews, J.A.W. began to message the defendant on December 18, 2022, seeking to purchase “blues,” which are counterfeit pills often containing fentanyl. Over the course of the next four days, J.A.W. and Gauthier messaged about the purchase until settling on a price of $80 for 10 blues. On December 23, 2022, J.A.W. arranged to meet at Gauthier’s storage unit to complete the purchase. J.A.W. left his family’s holiday party at 2 p.m., picked up the drugs at the storage unit and returned home at 4 p.m.

Gauthier’s sentencing is scheduled for May 30, 2025, at 9 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Gordon and David Fawcett.

Special Agents and Task Force Officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Overdose Response Team and the Fentanyl Abatement and Suppression Team (FAST) jointly led this investigation.

The Overdose Response Team is an ongoing effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the San Diego Police Department, the La Mesa Police Department, National Guard Counterdrug Task Force and the California Department of Health Care Services to investigate and prosecute the distribution of dangerous illegal drugs—fentanyl in particular—that result in overdose deaths. The Drug Enforcement Administration created the Overdose Response Team as a response to the increase in overdose deaths in San Diego County.

HSI San Diego FAST is a multiagency task force comprising state, local, and federal partners and was first established in August 2022 focusing on the disruption and dismantlement of criminal organizations that smuggle and distribute fentanyl within San Diego County. HSI’s FAST targets fentanyl smuggling and distribution networks to counter the rising overdose rate and decrease the availability and accessibility of fentanyl.

DEFENDANTS                                             Case Number 24-CR-1383-JLS                               

Jonathan Tyler Gauthier                                 Age: 26                                   San Diego, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Distribution of Fentanyl

21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)

Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison (per count)

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Drug Enforcement Administration

Homeland Security Investigations

San Diego Police Department

California National Guard Counterdrug Task Force

California Department of Health Care Services

La Mesa Police Department

San Diego County District Attorney’s Office

*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.