Police Seek Woman in Drug Injection Death

Police on Monday were seeking a Reseda woman who they believe administered a fatal drug injection to an ailing man while allegedly practicing medicine illegally from her home.

Refugio Sandoval, 60, was sought in the death of Jesus Nicolas Anchondo, 22, of Arleta, who police say died Sunday after getting an injection from Sandoval about 11 a.m. After going into convulsions, he was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where he died at noon, a hospital spokesman said Monday.

Authorities want to question Sandoval and said they were considering whether to seek an arrest warrant on charges of manslaughter and practicing medicine without a license. They said she apparently had a large clientele, and had been treating patients for a variety of ailments for at least five years.

One of those patients was Anchondo’s mother, who told authorities she had taken her son to see Sandoval after he began vomiting and complained of flu-like symptoms.

By the time detectives arrived at Sandoval’s Reseda home after Anchondo’s death, she had fled, and by nightfall, her seven adult children also were gone, police said.

But inside the ramshackle, one-story stucco house, authorities said they found what looked like a pharmacy and doctor’s office, complete with rows upon rows of medications, and a line of chairs that they believe was Sandoval’s waiting room.

“We have no evidence that Sandoval had any actual medical training,” Detective Rick Swanston said. “We don’t know much about her yet. She tells people she is a nurse, but we have not been able to find any proof of that yet.”

Swanston said police have information indicating that Sandoval got her medications in Tijuana, and that she was providing medical care to a steady clientele through word of mouth. “She had a lot of patients, we’re sure of that,” he said.

Within hours of Anchondo’s death, Swanston said, police seized “tons of stuff, thousands and thousands of pills and vials of medicine.”

“She had everything in the world, hundreds of drugs in there,” he said. “She had a miniature hospital in her bedroom.”

He said the medicines were labeled in Spanish, including a vial that appeared to contain the fluid that was injected into Anchondo, and that authorities were trying to determine its contents.

Neither Swanston nor the Los Angeles County coroner’s office would speculate on what was in the vial. Scott Carrier, a coroner’s spokesman, said an autopsy on Anchondo is scheduled today.

Neighbors said they had seen a steady stream of people coming and going to Sandoval’s house. At least two neighbors said people had come to their door, asking for the house number where Sandoval lived, or simply asking for “the nurse.”

Authorities and medical experts say practicing medicine without a license is a common occurrence in some Latino communities in Southern California, where drugs and medications can be bought at swap meets and other black-market locations.

Ken Valderrama, 25, lived across the street, and said he frequently wondered whether all the traffic was because of some kind of illicit activity.

“Every night there’d be a few different cars,” he said. “But if you did think they were doing something illegal, you’d never think it was alternative medicine. That’s the last thing you’d expect.”