Three people from Bend were arrested Sunday as drug enforcement officers shut down what they say was a fentanyl trafficking operation.
Central Oregon Drug Enforcement (CODE) said David Vance, 24, his brother Justin Vance, 26 and Katie Borden, 20, were arrested.
Acting on community tips, CODE said David Vance was identified as a fentanyl trafficker in the Bend area. After several weeks of surveillance, CODE said it was determined David Vance was selling large quantities of fentanyl in the area of NE 2nd Street and Franklin Avenue, near the Lighthouse Navigation Center.
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On Sunday in Terrebonne, CODE and the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office pulled over a Subaru with the Vance brothers and Borden inside. CODE said K-9 Bonnie detected drugs inside the Subaru. After a search warrant was issued for the car, CODE said a commercial and substantial quantity of powered fentanyl and fake pharmaceutical pills made of fentanyl were found inside.
A commercial quantity is five grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl. Possession of that amount can increase sentencing guidelines.
A search of David Vance and Katie Borden’s apartment at the Franklin Hotel found more evidence, CODE said. The Franklin Hotel is a low-barrier shelter operated by Shepherd’s House Ministries and is meant for long-term residents.
“We were informed by the DEA that their undercover agents that they had tasked with trying to engage this individual, that their attempts to engage the individual while on the Franklin Avenue Shelter campus were all engaged by our staff,” said Evan Hendrix of Shepherd’s House Ministries. “And that was really encouraging to us just to know that our staff does have eyes and ears on the campus and is maintaining its status as a closed campus.”
Shepherd’s House says this is the first time an incident “of this magnitude” has happened at its shelters.
David Vance and Borden are charged in Deschutes County on possession and delivery. Justin Vance faces potential charges on drug possession and an outstanding DUII warrant, CODE said.
