NEWS RELEASE
DATE: July 24, 2024
SUBJECT: Man Arrest for Murder in Connection with Overdose Death
SUSPECTS: Rodney Rey Yanez, 55 year-old Oxnard Resident
LOCATION: 1500 block of W. Gonzales Rd., Oxnard
CONTACT: Jose Velazquez, Sergeant
(805) 385-7623 (Tue-Fri 10AM-8PM) jose.velazquez@oxnardpd.org
On September 20, 2023, Oxnard Police officers and EMS personnel responded to a report of an overdose victim in the restroom of a gas station located in the 1500 block of W. Gonzales Rd., in Oxnard. Responding officers and emergency personnel performed CPR on the victim, Dylan Rusch, but were unable to revive him. Mr. Rusch was pronounced deceased at the scene. Toxicology results from the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office show a lethal level of fentanyl was the cause of death.
The Oxnard Police Department’s Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) conducted an extensive investigation into this incident. Detectives processed evidence, interviewed multiple witnesses, executed several search warrants, and ultimately identified Rodney Rey Yanez as the person who sold fentanyl to Mr. Rusch. Detectives also identified Yanez as a suspect in a series of narcotics-related offenses stemming back to January of 2023.
With the assistance of the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Yanez for Second Degree Murder and several narcotics sales-related offenses.
On July 24, 2024, the Oxnard Police Department’s DEU, with the assistance of the K9 Unit and the Neighborhood Policing Team, located Yanez in the 5500 block of Everglade St. in the City of Ventura. He was arrested for the outstanding warrant and booked at the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Pre-Trial Detention facility.
This investigation marks the first time murder charges were filed against a person who knowingly sold the deadly synthetic drug fentanyl to a victim who overdosed and died.
The Oxnard Police Department is committed to reducing drug overdoses in the city of Oxnard. Anyone with information regarding this case or other criminal activity is encouraged to contact the Oxnard Police Department at (805) 385-7600, or online via the Oxnard Police Department’s website: www.oxnardpd.org, and clicking on “Report Suspicious Activity.” You can remain anonymous if you choose to do so by calling the Ventura County Crime Stoppers. at (800) 222-8477. You can also visit their website: www.venturacountycrimestoppers.org to submit a tip via text or email.