‘High-volume’ Central Oregon drug trafficker sentenced to over 11 years in federal prison
EUGENE, Ore. (KTVZ) — A known, high-volume Central Oregon drug trafficker was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison Wednesday following a multi-agency investigation led by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, federal prosecutors said.
Ricky Fontaine, 32, of Bend, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
“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 M. 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.”
According to court documents, on April 1, 2023, after obtaining information that Fontaine was actively selling drugs—including fentanyl—in Deschutes County, detectives from the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Street Crimes Unit conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Fontaine.
Fontaine, who at the time of the stop had an unrelated active felony arrest warrant, attempted to walk away from the traffic stop on foot but was quickly apprehended by the detectives.
The detectives searched Fontaine’s vehicle and found more than 1,000 grams of fentanyl, a .22 caliber handgun, scales and drug packaging materials. The detectives also found several photographs of Fontaine posing with large quantities of packaged fentanyl pills.
A few hours later, the detectives executed a second search warrant on Fontaine’s residence and found additional fentanyl pills, scales and packaging materials.
KTVZ News reported at the time that three people were arrested and about 13,000 counterfeit Oxycodone fentanyl pills were seized in a series of 2023 raids around the county, concluding a lengthy investigation by the sheriff's office Street Crimes Unit into drug trafficking from a supplier in Mexico.
Court documents show four local charges, including felon in possession of a firearm, were dismissed later that year after Fontaine was indicted by a federal grand jury
On January 18, 2024, Fontaine was charged by superseding indictment with possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl and illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. On December 4, 2024, he pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl.
The case was investigated by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Street Crimes Unit with assistance from the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team (CODE) and the Redmond Police Department. It was prosecuted by Andrew R. Doyle, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 80 to 100 times more powerful than morphine and 30 to 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 wide availability of illicit fentanyl in Oregon has caused a dramatic increase in overdose deaths throughout the state.
If you are in immediate danger, please call 911.
If you or someone you know suffers from addiction, please call the Lines for Life substance abuse helpline at 1-800-923-4357 or visit www.linesforlife.org. Live phone support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
