Wash. fugitive, Bend transient arrested on fentanyl trafficking charges in guns-drawn Crescent stop

Bellingham man wanted on escape charge recently eluded Bend police, drug agent says

CRESCENT, Ore. (KTVZ) – A guns-drawn traffic stop on Highway 97 in Crescent late Saturday night brought the arrest of a Washington state fugitive and a Bend transient on drug trafficking charges and the seizure of fake Oxycodone tablets containing fentanyl, the latest operation targeting the deadly drug that agents said is "flooding the region."

  The Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team, working with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Street Crime Unit, wrapped up a long-term investigation and interstate surveillance operation with the arrest of a 45-year-old Bellingham, Washington man and a female transient from Bend, also 45, Sergeant Kent Vander Kamp said.

In a series of concurrent investigations, drug agents identified the man as a fentanyl trafficker who has been importing large quantities of fentanyl pills from Central California into Central Oregon, where he distributed them primarily in Deschutes County, Vander Kamp said.

The man also had an outstanding nationwide arrest for escape from the Washington Department of Corrections after a conviction of unlawful firearm possession.

After several days of surveillance in California and Oregon, CODE Team detectives, assisted by Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies and detectives, Bend police officers conducted the high-risk stop on the pair around 11 p.m. as they say in a car parked on Highway 97 at the Crescent Cutoff Road, Vander Kamp said.

The man recently had eluded Bend police and has a history of eluding law enforcement. “Based on his dangerous driving history it was decided to stop him while parked, Vander Kamp explained.

CODE Team narcotics detection K-9 Bonnie was deployed and alerted her to the presence of drugs. Bonnie is one of two Central Oregon K-9s trained and certified in detecting fentanyl, along with other controlled substances -- in fact, Bend police said Bonnie earned that fentanyl certification just last week.

CODE detectives applied for and obtained a search warrant. A subsequent search of the man’s Honda Accord found a commercial quantity of counterfeit Oxycodone tablets made of fentanyl and fentanyl powders, along with drug paraphernalia and several prohibited weapons, Vander Kamp said.

"These counterfeit tablets have been linked to an ongoing overdose epidemic in Central Oregon and contain fentanyl and can be deadly to an unsuspecting user," Vander Kamp said in a news release.

The man was booked into the Deschutes County Jail for his outstanding arrest warrant and a felony charge of eluding police. Added charges were referred to the Klamath County District Attorney’s Office of drug possession and attempted distribution and felon in possession of a dangerous weapon.

The woman was booked into the Bend jail on third-degree charges of robbery and theft, unrelated to the latest case, Vander Kamp said. Drug possession and attempted distribution charges also have been referred to the Klamath County DA’s Office.