Three Young People in Custody After Fentanyl Overdose Kills Hillsboro Woman
Three people in their early 20s are in custody in Portland following the suspected death by fentanyl overdosing of a Hillsboro woman on 13 December.
Police found powdered fentanyl, methamphetamine, and fentanyl-laced blue counterfeit oxycodone M30 pills near the body of the 49-year-old woman whose identity has not been disclosed by federal authorities.
Oscar Alfredo Rivas-Mendez (22), Yoselyn Sanchez-Estrada (21), and Jassiel Alan Diaz-Elenes (25), appeared in the Portland federal court yesterday (Friday) where U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Armistead ordered them to remain in custody pending trial.
Couple Paid $40 for Half a Gram of Fentanyl Powder
According to an affidavit, the woman and her boyfriend paid $40 for half a gram of fentanyl powder from a seller in Hillsboro at 10 p.m. on December 12, the day before she died.
The day after police found the woman dead in her home, they arranged to meet with the same seller to buy powdered fentanyl for $80.
They found the man’s number in the dead woman’s cellphone. At the rendezvous, the seller cooperated with the police by identifying his supplier, according to the affidavit. He is not one of the three people in custody.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for a black Toyota Corolla and an apartment in Gresham on Southeast Kane Street. They found 1.1 grams of fentanyl powder in the bedroom of Rivas-Mendez and Sanchez-Estrada, more than $8,400 in cash, a drug ledger, and money receipts.
Initially, Sanchez-Estrada denied selling fentanyl but admitted that she accompanied Rivas-Mendez during drug transactions. According to the affidavit, her phone messages revealed communications with a supplier in California.
Sanchez-Estrada later admitted to police that she and Rivas-Mendez bought counterfeit M30 pills for $1 each which they resold for $1.65 each. Rivas-Mendez told investigators he had eight customers.
Investigators Arranged to Meet the Supplier
Investigators then ordered thousands of M30 pills from the California supplier and arranged to meet him in Multnomah County later the same day.
Diaz-Elenes arrived in a white Hyundai sedan at about 4:40 p.m. and, after parking, was surrounded by officers and a drug detection dog, according to the affidavit.
The police found 10,000 fentanyl-laced M30 pills in a plastic bag on the front passenger seat, and a black lunch box on the back seat containing 2.5 grams of fentanyl powder and $10,944 in cash.
Diaz-Elenes had a fake driver’s license from Sinaloa, Mexico when he was arrested, the affidavit said. He is charged with possession with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of a substance containing fentanyl.
Rivas-Mendez and Sanchez-Estrada are both charged with conspiracy, possession, and intent to distribute fentanyl.
Death by drug overdose has been on the increase in Oregon since 2019. According to state data, 1,833 people died in Oregon in 2023 from drug overdosing, compared to 1,383 in 2022, 1,189 in 2021, 824 in 2020, and 626 in 2019.