Man pleads guilty in fentanyl-related death

SAN DIEGO

A man who sold fentanyl-laced pills that led to the death of a 49year-old La Jolla woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to voluntary manslaughter and drug possession charges.

Joshua Alan Breslow, 54, is expected to be sentenced next month to 15 years in state prison for providing pills that led to the September 2020 death of Sally Manchester Ricchiuti, daughter of Doug Manchester, a San Diego developer and former owner of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Breslow, who was previously charged with murder in the case, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter count, as well as charges of possessing fentanyl and oxycontin.

Prosecutors said Breslow provided Ricchiuti and others with doctored pills, despite being aware of the potentially fatal consequences, and that he continued dealing pills even after learning of Ricchiuti’s death.

Deputy District Attorney Joel Madero said it did not appear the victim was aware of what was in the pills she took.

At Breslow’s arraignment last year, Madero called him “a prolific drug dealer” in La Jolla and accused him of providing deadly fentanyl to unwitting buyers, including Ricchiuti.

The prosecutor said authorities searched Breslow’s home after Ricchiuti died and found more than 600 fentanyl pills, 67 grams of cocaine, 14 grams of ecstasy and 42 alprazolam pills.

He was arrested and booked into county jail, but later bailed out. Prosecutors said that while he was out on bail, he continued to sell drugs, and a subsequent search of his home turned up 50 fentanyl and 55 oxycodone pills.

One of Breslow’s defense attorneys, Douglas Gilliland, said his client is “extremely remorseful” and that he had known the victim for many years, as they attended high school together. Gilliland said it was in dispute whether Breslow knew the pills contained fentanyl.

At the time of his arraignment, a defense attorney described Breslow as a lifelong San Diego resident and family man with no prior criminal record.

According to an obituary, Ricchiuti graduated from La Jolla High School in 1988 and University of Colorado four years later. She eventually returned to San Diego, married her high school sweetheart and had three children.