A juvenile has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter for allegedly selling fentanyl to a 14-year-old classmate who later died of an overdose.
Sophia Alessandra Urquilla was found dead inside her home on Jan. 30. The Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office determined she died of fentanyl intoxication.
An arrest in the case was made on Feb. 14. The County Attorney’s Office, however, would not identify the minor, who is being prosecuted as a juvenile. The teen was also was arrested on suspicion of selling a narcotic in a school zone.
“As a parent, it’s scary,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said, discussing the flow of dangerous and deadly drugs making their way into a middle school environment. “To think ‘My goodness, my middle school child could be exposed to this!’ is a reality, and unfortunately we see it too often.”
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If detectives are able to track down who sold an overdose victim the deadly concoction, that person could face charges, like in Urquilla’s case.
Often times young people aren’t even aware of what they’re ingesting, Nanos explained.
The pills could be made in a bathroom lab with just about anything, or put together in someone’s backyard with ingredients completely unknown, he said.
“People would die if they knew what was happening, not literally, but they would be very surprised if they knew what was going in some of these drugs,” Nanos said.
In 2024, there was a single fentanyl-related overdose death in Pima County among people between the ages 13 and 19 years old, according to the medial examiner’s office. That’s down from 13 deaths in 2023 and nine in 2022, the office says.
Urquilla was 8th grader at Mansfield Magnet Middle School. She loved cats, Hello Kitty and playing her guitar. She also was remembered as being curious, adventurous, a bright student, athlete and gamer, according to her obituary.
