Joe DelGiudice

Robert Cornett is a 30-year veteran of law enforcement in Southern California. His career began in 1994 with the San Diego Police Department. During his 11 years with the department, he patrolled the city and gained extensive experience in all aspects of patrol functions. In 2006, Cornett transitioned to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, where he served at the Perris Station until 2010.

In 2010, Cornett was promoted to Investigator and transferred to the Lake Elsinore Station. Over eight years, he honed his skills investigating a wide range of crimes, from fraud to homicide. At Lake Elsinore, he was assigned to the Domestic Violence/Threat Management team, where he reviewed and investigated domestic violence cases and addressed threats to businesses and schools in the area. He also qualified as a court expert in domestic violence and was later promoted to Master Investigator.

In 2018, Cornett was transferred to the Southwest Station, where he mentored newly promoted investigators while conducting complex investigations, including cases of embezzlement and internet crimes. Due to his expertise in investigations, he was tasked with handling the most complex cases, such as employee-related criminal investigations.

In late 2019, Cornett found his true calling as an investigator when he responded to the fentanyl overdose of a 22-year-old female. Recognizing the severity of the fentanyl epidemic, he viewed the incident as a possible criminal act. Working alongside the Central Homicide Unit and the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, he pioneered a new approach to investigating fatal overdoses, treating them as potential homicides. His efforts led to changes in policy and procedure within the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, ensuring all fatal fentanyl overdoses were investigated as potential homicides. Over the next two years, Cornett investigated more than 150 fatal and non-fatal fentanyl overdoses with the goal of filing criminal charges. One notable case, Romero vs. the County of Riverside, resulted in a conviction for second-degree homicide—the first such conviction in California—for providing a fatal dose of fentanyl. Cornett testified as a subject matter expert on fentanyl during the prosecution.

In November 2021, Cornett was assigned to the Overdose Death Investigations and Narcotics (O.D.I.N.) team within the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. In this role, he was tasked with investigating all fatal fentanyl overdoses in Riverside County, focusing on identifying and prosecuting the dealers who supplied the fatal doses. Over three years with the O.D.I.N. team, Cornett investigated over 350 cases, working closely with state and federal prosecutors to file charges. He personally filed 24 homicide cases against fentanyl dealers and provided training to local and state agencies in California, as well as agencies in Hawaii, on successfully investigating and prosecuting such cases.