A former city employee was taken into custody Monday on suspicion of murder after telling police he was responsible for supplying the drugs that caused a woman he’d been dating to overdose in 2020.
The former employee, 35-year-old Jarid Nakamura, was charged with one count of murder. Nakamura has not yet entered a plea and is due back in court next week.
City spokesperson Jennifer De Prez said Nakamura worked for the Harbor Department and was employed by the city for a total of four years: from 2009 to 2011, and again for a second stint from 2020 to March 2023, when he resigned. De Prez could not immediately disclose more information about Nakamura’s role with the city.
Police say they arrived at the 1700 block of Cedar Avenue on July 6, 2020, to assist Long Beach Fire Department personnel with the overdose death of a woman later identified as 36-year-old Sokly Sar.
At the time of Sar’s death, there was limited evidence to believe a crime had occurred, the LBPD said in a statement Wednesday morning. Additionally, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office determined Sar’s death was accidental after an autopsy revealed she had overdosed on a combination of methamphetamine and alcohol, according to the LBPD.
On Monday, Nakamura went to the LBPD Police headquarters where he asked to speak with detectives regarding Sar’s overdose.
There, police say Nakamura claimed he and Sar were in a relationship and that he was responsible for her death after giving her the narcotics that caused her to overdose.
According to police, Nakamura was employed by the city of Long Beach at the time of the crime, although it was not immediately clear what his role was.
Nakamura’s bail was set at $2 million, jail records show.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with information on Nakamura’s bail, his employment with the city and with the status of his case.
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