Murder suspects to appear in court

Men accused of supplying fentanyl to victims who died

By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Three men charged in two separate Santa Barbara County cases with murder for allegedly supplying fentanyl to two victims who overdosed and died last year are scheduled to return to court next month to have dates set for their preliminary hearings.

One of the men, Dillon Johnson, 35, is charged in one of the cases.

Two others — Jonathan Eric Fleischer, 41, and Edward William Wysel, 52 — are charged in the other case.

All three defendants appeared in court last week to set dates for their respective preliminary hearings, but both cases were continued to March 13, according to Senior Deputy Attorney Anthony S. Davis.

Mr. Fleischer and Mr. Wysel are charged with murder in the death of Z. Raymond, prosecutors said in their complaint. The victim died sometime between Aug. 8 and Aug. 10.

The two defendants also are charged with the possession and transportation for sale of a controlled substance, fentanyl.

The charge carries special allegations that, among other things, they caused great bodily injury to the victim, that the crime disclosed a high degree of cruelty, viciousness or callousness, and that their violent conduct indicates a serious danger to society.

The case stemmed from an OD investigation by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. No other details were available.

It was the second case filed by the District Attorney’s Office involving people charged with murder for supplying drugs to someone who died as a result.

The first involved Mr. Nelson.

Santa Barbara police officers were dispatched April 29 to the 100 block of State Street