California Department of Health Care Services is part of the Overdose Response Team
“The investigation, arrest, and successful prosecution of those selling fentanyl that results in overdose deaths is an example of local, state and federal investigators working together to keep our families safe from harm.”
CSLEA President Alan Barcelona
SAN DIEGO – On February 27, 2025, Jonathan Tyler Gauthier, 26, of San Diego, pleaded guilty in federal court, 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.
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:
- 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
