Contra Costa County Sheriff's detectives have charged an Alameda man with murder, alleging he sold fentanyl-laced drugs that killed a 20-year-old Orinda resident nearly two years ago.
Ulzii Orshikh Batsukh, 26, was arrested Aug. 6 and booked into the Martinez Detention Facility.
The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office formally charged Batsukh with murder the same day, alleging the narcotics he sold caused the victim's death.
The case dates to September 2024, when the Orinda Police Department investigated the young resident's death. A toxicology examination later determined the cause was acute fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl intoxication, indicating the drugs contained at least two synthetic opioid compounds.
Sheriff's Office detectives took over the investigation to trace the source of the drugs. Spokesman Jimmy Lee said in a department Facebook post that detectives pinpointed where the drugs were purchased and identified the alleged dealer, then secured a Ramey arrest warrant for Batsukh.
Authorities have not disclosed the circumstances of the drug sale or publicly identified the victim. As News24-680 reported, the specific details of the purchase were not divulged.
Murder charges in fentanyl cases
Charging drug dealers with murder for fatal overdoses remains relatively new in California. Riverside County has led the approach statewide, filing murder charges in 44 fentanyl overdose cases since 2021 and securing convictions in 29, according to a Los Angeles Times report. In July 2026, a Southern California woman received a sentence of 15 years to life after a jury convicted her of second-degree murder for supplying a lethal fentanyl dose.
The Batsukh case marks a similar application of homicide statutes by the Contra Costa County DA's Office, though no arraignment or preliminary hearing date has been announced.
Anyone with information on the case can contact the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600, email [email protected], or call (866) 846-3592 to leave an anonymous voice message.
