San Francisco Police Arrest Four in Connection to Teen's Death, Warn of Deadly New Opioid Cychlorphine
San Francisco police have arrested four individuals and seized over 20,000 counterfeit pills in an investigation following the April overdose death of a 16-year-old boy. The teenager's autopsy revealed the presence of cychlorphine, a synthetic opioid believed to be significantly more potent than fentanyl. At a press conference, Mayor Daniel Lurie, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, and Police Chief Derrick Lew announced the arrests, which occurred on September 8 and 9, and warned the public about the emergence of cychlorphine in the city's illicit drug supply. The four suspects—Nicholas Wallace, Sharonee Hyson, Leander Pitts, and Starr Lamare—face narcotics and firearms charges. Prosecutors are exploring additional charges, including potentially linking a suspect to the teenager's death, but face a legal hurdle as cychlorphine is not yet specifically listed as a controlled substance under California law. Officials emphasized that standard fentanyl test strips do not detect cychlorphine, and while naloxone c...
