La Pine-area couple accused of trafficking fentanyl, meth from Portland to C.O. arrested in Crescent Lake traffic stop
(Update: Both suspects appear in court, more details)
CRESCENT LAKE, Ore. (KTVZ) – A La Pine-area couple accused of trafficking fentanyl from Portland to south Deschutes County was pulled over and arrested in a traffic stop at Crescent Lake Thursday night and fake tablets made of fentanyl and methamphetamine were found in their car, authorities said Friday. The woman’s 6-year-old son, also in the car, was placed with family members.
The Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team, working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, concluded a long-term investigation with the arrest of driver Mario Michael Fivecoats, 35, and passenger Rebecca Ann Toepfer, 31, Deschutes County sheriff’s Sergeant Kent Vander Kamp said in a news release.
After an overnight multi-county surveillance operation, CODE Team detectives, assisted by Oregon State Police, stopped a 2009 Honda Civic driven by Fivecoats, with Toepfer and her son as passengers, in the Klamath County community of Crescent Lake, Vander Kamp said.
During the stop, CODE Team drug-detection K-9 Bonnie and her handler alerted to the presence of drugs in the car, the sergeant said. Detectives applied for, obtained and executed a search warrant from Klamath County Circuit Court.
In the car, detectives found and seized a “commercial quantity” of fake pharmaceutical tablets made of suspected fentanyl, along with methamphetamine, Vander Kamp said.
Drug agents also contacted Oregon DHS – Child Welfare to assist with caring for the boy. They were able to contact and later released the child to “responsible relatives,” the sergeant said.
The couple were taken to the Klamath County Jail in Klamath Falls and booked on charges of possession and attempted distribution of fentanyl and meth, as well as endangering the welfare of a minor.
Court records show Fivecoats appeared in court Friday and a preliminary probable cause hearing was set for May 19. He also was cited by OSP for driving with a suspended or revoked license and expired registration stickers.
Toepfer also appeared in court Friday and a preliminary probable cause hearing was set in her case for May 17.
Asked about the location of the traffic stop, Vander Kamp explained that Fivecoats lives in a rural area south of La Pine and it "appeared he was heading out into the woods," which would have made for a more challenging operation.
Court records show Fivecoats lives on Collar Drive, south of La Pine, and Toepfer on Parker Road, on the southwest outskirts of the city.
Vander Kamp also said they did not know Toepfer's son was in the car until the traffic stop was conducted: "That was a surprise."
A “commercial quantity” is defined by statute as five grams or more of a mixture of a detectable amount of fentanyl substance or any substituted derivative of fentanyl, as defined by the rules of the Oregon Board of Pharmacy, Vander Kamp said. This is not a separate criminal charge, but rather an increase in the sentencing guidelines.
The greater Portland area is a central transshipment hub where illegal drugs coming from the southwest border are stored in local warehouses, storage units and residential properties, the sergeant said. Bulk shipments of drugs are usually broken down into smaller quantities and transported to other states or distributed to local dealers. The Portland area has an international airport, interstate highways, and bus and train lines that make it easy for shipments to be smuggled to other destinations around the Pacific Northwest.
Recently DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said, “Fentanyl is the single deadliest drug threat our nation has ever encountered. Fentanyl is everywhere. From large metropolitan areas to rural America, no community is safe from this poison. We must take every opportunity to spread the word to prevent fentanyl-related overdose death and poisonings from claiming scores of American lives every day.”
