Portland, Ore. – Deon Williams, 28, from Portland, Oregon was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Ancer L. Haggerty to 120 months in federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute fifty grams or more of cocaine base, in the form of crack cocaine. Upon leaving prison, the defendant will be subject to five years of supervised release. Williams previously entered a plea of guilty to the charge on January 23, 2007.
On September 14, 2005, Portland Police officers with the Tactical Operations Division and Gang Enforcement Team arrested the defendant based upon information they developed that he was selling drugs. Inside the car he was driving, officers initially found 25.6 grams of crack cocaine (cocaine base). Gang enforcement officers followed up by executing a state search warrant on the defendant’s residence. Inside the residence, officers found an additional 193.9 grams of crack cocaine (cocaine base), cash, drug packaging material, a scale, and some marijuana. The defendant was subsequently interviewed and admitted that he sold drugs and it was his main source of income. The officers know the defendant as an admitted member and co-founder of a Portland gang called “304.”
The defendant has previous drug convictions in state court for which he received probationary sentences. In seeking the 10-year mandatory minimum sentence, the government noted that “[t]he defendant is a 28-year old admitted gang member whose drug dealing has finally caught up with him in an extreme manner.”
This case was primarily investigated by the Portland Police Bureau’s (PPB) Gang Enforcement Team. They were assisted by additional members of the Tactical Operations Division, agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, and the PPB Drugs and Vice Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Scott Kerin. Mr. Kerin can be reached at (503) 727-1002.
