La Pine woman arrested for fentanyl trafficking in Deschutes County
By Mindy Gould on Thursday, August 10th, 2023 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories
Deschutes County-On August 9, 2023, at approximately 7:30 PM, the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team concluded a long-term investigation with the arrest of Jessica Grace Lee, age 30, of La Pine, Oregon.
CODE detectives identified Ms. Lee as a fentanyl trafficker in the La Pine area. The initial investigation alleges Ms. Lee imported fentanyl into the La Pine area, where she distributed them in Deschutes and Klamath Counties. During the investigation, CODE Detectives observed criminal activity and collected an abundance of evidence supporting their investigation.
CODE detectives applied for and was granted a Search Warrant for Ms. Lee and her trailer by a Deschutes County Circuit Court Judge. Ms. Lee is transient and living in a camp trailer on an unrelated person’s property. The homeowner is not the subject of this investigation.
At approximately 7:30 PM, Ms. Lee was contacted as detained while riding as a passenger in an unrelated vehicle at the intersection of Skidgel Rd and Railroad St in the unincorporated area of La Pine.
Later, drug agents executed the search warrant on the 52000 block of Antler Lane. CODE Detectives gathered and seized a commercial quantity of fake pharmaceutical tablets made of fentanyl, a loaded pistol, an SKS rifle and a large amount of US Currency.
In June of 2023, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 2645, later signed by Governor Kotek. As a result, a “commercial quantity” is now defined by statute as five grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl or 25 or more user units (i.e. pills), or any substituted derivative of fentanyl as defined by the rules of the Oregon Board of Pharmacy. This is not a separate criminal charge but rather an increase in the sentencing guidelines.
Ms. Lee was lodged in the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Jail with the following criminal charges.
- Unlawful Possession of Schedule II Controlled Substance (Fentanyl), ORS 475.752
- Attempted Unlawful Delivery of Schedule II Controlled Substance (Fentanyl), ORS 475.752
- Manufacturing a Schedule II Controlled Substance (Fentanyl), ORS 475.882
CONTACT FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Sgt. Kent Vander Kamp, 541-550-4869 or kentv@deschutes.org
The Central Oregon Drug Enforcement (CODE) team is a multi-jurisdictional narcotics task force supported by the Oregon-Idaho High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program and the following Central Oregon law enforcement agencies: Bend Police Department, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Redmond Police Department, Prineville Police Department, Crook County Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Madras Police Department, Oregon State Police, Sunriver Police Department, Black Butte Police Department, United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Warm Springs Tribal Police Department, Deschutes, Crook, and Jefferson County District Attorney’s, and the Oregon National Guard.
The Oregon-Idaho HIDTA program is an Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) sponsored counterdrug grant program that coordinates and provides funding resources to multi-agency drug enforcement task forces to disrupt or dismantle local, multi-state and international drug trafficking organizations.
