Neighbors’ tips lead to drug raid on SW Redmond home; 2 arrests, fentanyl, meth seized

Booking deputies find man arrested on parole violation warrant had 20 fentanyl pills hidden in body cavity

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Wrapping up an investigation sparked by neighbors’ tips, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and Redmond Police street crimes units and DCSO’s SWAT Team raided a southwest Redmond home on Wednesday, arrested two of the eight people there and seized suspected fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Around 10:30 a.m. – timed to avoid school buses, traffic and children – a search warrant was executed at a home in the 2300 block of SW Salmon Avenue, sheriff’s Sgt. Jason Wall said.

The home and several occupants had been the focus of a long-term drug investigation, as county and city street crimes units “received numerous tips from the community regarding suspicious drug-related activity” at the home, Wall said in a news release.

"Several community members reported suspected drug trafficking from the residence, along with general quality-of-life complaints stemming from the suspected drug trafficking in their neighborhood," he added.

Detectives learned the primary resident, a 39-year-old man, was selling meth from the home, the sergeant said. Investigators also learned several wanted people with “significant criminal history” frequented the home, Wall added.

There also had been several reported overdoses at the home, and citizen tips indicated counterfeit oxycodone (fentanyl) pills were being sold from the location.

The SWAT team encountered eight people in the home when the raid took place, as detectives seized commercial quantities of meth and the oxycodone (fentanyl) pills, Wall said.

The 39-year-old resident was arrested on felon drug possession and delivery charges, as well as two counts of felon in possession of a restricted weapon and frequenting a place where drugs are used. A 27-year-old man, also a resident, was arrested on a felony arrest warrant for parole violation.

While booking the 27-year-old man into the county jail, booking deputies found that he had hidden 20 counterfeit oxycodone (fentanyl) pills in a body cavity, so he was charged with introducing contraband into a public safety facility, Wall said.

The sheriff’s office thanked Redmond Police for their help in the investigation.