LA grandma reveals closing moments of dual grandsons’ fentanyl demise

A distraught grandmother has told of how one of her twin toddler grandsons turned blue as both died after allegedly being exposed to their mother’s fentanyl haul.  

LaTina Allen sobbed as she recalled performing CPR on her three-year-old grandsons, Josiah and Jestine — also known as Jojo and Juju — on July 11.

Allen said she and her daughter, Jestice James, were at their Canoga Park, Calif. apartment that afternoon when she heard James screaming for help.

The older twin, Josiah, was not moving despite James’ attempt to wake the toddler up.

‘She didn’t even know what was going on,’ Allen said. ‘I heard her voice change. She kept on saying, “Jojo! Jojo!” When I ran into the room she said something was wrong.’

Allen said she grabbed the little boy, but Josiah had already turned blue. 

‘I turned around and told my cousin to call 911,’ the grandmother said. ‘I was panicking and wasn’t doing CPR right, so my other daughter, Jestina, called 911.’

In their panic, Allen said they didn’t realize the younger twin, Jestice, also was not breathing. 

‘We were so worried about Jojo that we didn’t notice Juju also needed help,’ Allen recalled. 

Allen said their neighbors also tried to do CPR on the twins. Paramedics who arrived about five minutes later used a Narcan spray on the boys, which is used to reverse an opioid overdose. 

Jestice responded to the Narcan and moved a little bit, but Josiah’s tiny body was lifeless, the grandmother told DailyMail.com.

‘They took each in separate ambulances and my daughter was screaming to be with her kids,’ Allen said. ‘We thought we would be able to go in the ambulance with them, but they said, “No ma’am, it’s too critical. We can’t let you go with them.” 

‘We just sat downstairs in shock. Three hours later, they took my daughter into custody.’

The boys were rushed to a nearby hospital, but it was too late. Josiah died later that afternoon, while Jestine died two days later.

Los Angeles County prosecutors charged James, 22, with two counts of murder and two counts of child abuse/endangerment under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily harm or death.

Prosecutors allege the twins were exposed to drugs laced with fentanyl, but would not go into further detail as to how the children came in contact with the deadly opioid.

James’ boyfriend also was at the apartment the day in question, family members said. 

Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami said the case is the first in LA County where a parent accused of  ‘pediatric exposure to illicit fentanyl’ is facing murder charges. 

‘The LAPD Abused Child Unit has done an outstanding job investigating this case,’ Hatami told DailyMail.com on Wednesday. ‘Their investigation is ongoing, including looking at any possible additional defendants.’ 

Hatami added he is already working on four other potential cases where a child or children has died in LA County within the past six months because of fentanyl exposure. 

Allen said her daughter Jestice has had ‘a lot of struggles’ as a young mom but loved her twin sons. 

James’ older sister, Jestina, said her sister almost died a year and a half ago after she unknowingly smoked marijuana that was laced with fentanyl.

Another friend who smoked the deadly batch, however, overdosed. 

‘She was very sad about her friend because he died and they all smoked from the same thing,’ Jestina, 26, said. ‘It was laced and they didn’t know. None of them knew.’

‘That’s what we don’t understand. She knew how dangerous this was. She would never put her kids in harm.’ 

Court records show James had a prior arrest for felony grand theft and was charged on October 2022. She was placed on probation for two years after she plead guilty to the charge, according to court records obtained by DailyMail.com.

James also had a warrant out for her arrest on a misdemeanor organized retail grant theft charged filed in December 2023. 

Her family said she was initially detained on July 11 for the misdemeanor grand theft warrant when she was then investigated and charged with the murder of her twin sons.

Allen said she hasn’t been able to talk to her daughter since she was arrested last week. 

The grandmother said she and her daughters had been homeless for about eight years until they secured a spot at the city-run affordable transitional housing complex in Canoga Park where the twins also stayed.

Allen said her daughter struggled to raise her boys but they always made things work. 

‘I said to her, “You know me. Whatever I have, they got,”‘ Allen said of her grandsons. ‘She put applications in for a job but she had gotten in trouble, so it was hard for her. She was stealing from stores with her friends and got caught. I told her she needed to get away from people who will get you in trouble. She just got into a bad crowd.’

The grieving grandma said she and now has to cope with the tragic loss of her beloved grandsons but also the possibility that her daughter will spend the rest of her life in prison.

‘I want people to know she was not a bad mom,’ Allen said. ‘She a caring and loving mom towards her kids. She would never let any harm come to them.’

James, who appeared at a Van Nuys courthouse on Tuesday, remains in jail in lieu of $4 million bail. She is scheduled to appear back in court July 31. 

At the brief hearing, James fought back tears as Allen mouthed, ‘I love you’ to her from across the courtroom.