An Arizona man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison after he and an accomplice were stopped traveling in a vehicle with 12,000 fentanyl pills on Highway 26 near Government Camp last year.
Jeray Lashawn Jessie, 32, a former Portland resident living in Phoenix, Arizona, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
According to court documents, in March 2021, as part of a larger drug trafficking investigation being conducted by the FBI and Clackamas County Interagency Task Force, law enforcement officers stopped a rental car traveling westbound on Highway 26 near Government Camp.
Jessie and an accomplice were the sole occupants of the vehicle traveling from Arizona to Portland. Investigators searched the vehicle pursuant to a warrant and located 12,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl concealed in a backpack in the vehicle’s trunk.
A subsequent search of Jessie’s cell phone revealed messages related to drug trafficking.
On August 17, 2021, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment charging Jessie with possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl. He pleaded guilty over a year later, on August 28.
This case was investigated by the FBI and Interagency Task Force. It was prosecuted by Peter D. Sax, assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Oregon.
CCITF, led by the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, works to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating in Clackamas County, and reduce illegal drugs and related crimes throughout the community.
The task force is comprised of members of the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, Canby Police Department, Oregon State Police, HSI, and FBI.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 80 to 100 times more powerful than morphine and 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin. A three-milligram dose of fentanyl — a few grains of the substance — is enough to kill an average adult male.
Officials say the availability of illicit fentanyl in Oregon has caused a dramatic increase in overdose deaths throughout the state.
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 linesforlife.org. Phone support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also text “RecoveryNow” to 839863 between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. daily.
If you are in immediate danger, please call 9-1-1.