Portland drug dealer sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for bringing meth, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl to Redmond

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A Portland drug dealer with a lengthy criminal history was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Thursday after he was arrested transporting methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl to Redmond.

Jason Robert Melcado, 51, a Portland resident, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison and four years’ supervised release, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a news release.

According to court documents, in June 2021, the Bend Police Department received information that Melcado was delivering methamphetamine and heroin to Deschutes County from Portland. Officers soon learned Melcado had an active felony arrest warrant and had recently been investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

On July 12, 2021, Bend police determined that Melcado was traveling to Redmond. Upon his arrest, officers found Melcado to be carrying a loaded 9mm pistol with an obliterated serial number and about a dozen counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl.

The next day, after obtaining a search warrant, officers found 217 grams of methamphetamine, nearly 1,000 counterfeit pills, and smaller quantities of heroin and cocaine in Melcado’s vehicle.

On August 19, 2021, a federal grand jury in Eugene returned a three-count indictment charging Melcado with possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

On November 22, 2022, Melcado pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

This case was investigated by the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement (CODE) Team and DEA. It was prosecuted by Gavin W. Bruce, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

The CODE team is a multi-jurisdictional narcotics task force supported by the Oregon-Idaho High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program. CODE includes members of the Bend, Redmond, Prineville, Madras, Sunriver, and Black Butte Police Departments; the Warm Springs Tribal Police Department; the Deschutes, Crook, and Jefferson County Sheriff and District Attorney’s Offices; the Oregon State Police; the Oregon National Guard; DEA; and the FBI.