By rssfeeds-admin The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon said 32-year-old Ricky Fontaine of Bend was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison with five years’ supervised release.
The case dates back to April 1, 2023, when Deschutes County detectives learned Fontaine was selling drugs, including fentanyl.
Police pulled Fontaine over, noting at the time of the traffic stop he had an unrelated active felony arrest warrant.
Fontaine tried to walk away from officers but was quickly arrested.
Detectives searched Fontaine’s vehicle and found more than 1,000 grams of fentanyl, a .22 caliber handgun, scales and drug packaging materials along with several photos of Fontaine posing with packages of fentanyl pills.
Hours later, authorities searched his home – finding more fentanyl pills, scales and packaging materials.
In January, Fontaine was charged with possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl and illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
Fontaine later pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl in December.
“This case is the result of excellent collaboration among the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Street Crimes Unit, the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon,” said William Narus, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Oregon. “We thank the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office for partnering with us to prosecute this case in federal court.”
Officials note fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is 80-100 times more powerful than morphine and 30-50 times more powerful than heroin.
“A 3-milligram dose of fentanyl—a few grains of the substance—is enough to kill an average adult male,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon said. “The wide availability of illicit fentanyl in Oregon has caused a dramatic increase in overdose deaths throughout the state.”
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