FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: April 19th, 2024
Released by: Sergeant Kent Vander Kamp
Crescent Lake, OR –
On April 18th, 2024, at approximately 10:00PM, the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team, in collaboration with the US Drug Enforcement Administration, concluded a long-term investigation with the arrest of Mario Michael Fivecoats, age 35, and Rebecca Ann Toepher, age 31, both of La Pine, Oregon.
During the investigation, drug agents identified Mario Fivecoats as a fentanyl trafficker in the south Deschutes County, Oregon, area. The initial investigation alleges Mr. Fivecoats imports fentanyl pills from Portland into central Oregon, where he distributed them throughout the Deschutes County community.
Following an overnight multi-county surveillance operation, CODE Detectives, with the assistance of the Oregon State Police, stopped Mario Fivecoats and his passenger, Rebecca Toepher, in the Klamath County community of Crescent Lake while he was driving a 2009 Honda Civic. The traffic stop was made on Highway 58 at the Crescent Lake Junction. Also inside the car was Ms. Toepher's 6-year-old son.
During the stop, CODE Drug K9 “Bonnie” alerted to the presence of a controlled substance coming from within the Honda. Using the investigative information, detectives applied for, obtained, and executed a search warrant from the Klamath County Circuit Court.
While executing the search warrant, CODE Detectives gathered and seized a commercial quantity of fake pharmaceutical tablets made of fentanyl along with methamphetamine from within the Honda.
Drug agents contacted Oregon DHS - Child Welfare to assist with caring for Ms. Toephfer's 6-year-old. DHS was able to contact and later released the young boy to responsible relatives.
A “commercial quantity” is defined by statute as five grams or more of a mixture of a detectable amount of fentanyl substance conta 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.
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. 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.”
Mr. Fivecoats and Ms. Toepher were lodged in the Klamath County Sheriff’s Jail with the following criminal charges.
Unlawful Possession and Attempted Distribution of a Schedule II Controlled Substance (Fentanyl)
Unlawful Possession and Attempted Distribution of Methamphetamine (Felony)
Endangering the Welfare of a Minor
CODE Detectives were assisted by the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Oregon State Police, Oregon DHS - Child Welfare, and Klamath County 9-1-1.
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.
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