MEDFORD, Ore.-A federal grand jury in Medford has returned an indictment charging a Phoenix, Arizona man with mailing large quantities of fentanyl to Southern Oregon.
Luke Austin Montgomery, 24, has been charged with three counts of attempting to distribute fentanyl.
According to court documents, in late 2022, law enforcement learned Montgomery had been shipping counterfeit oxycodone pills suspected to contain fentanyl from Phoenix to Southern Oregon. Soon after, investigators arranged the purchase of 1,000 counterfeit pills from Montgomery. The same day Montgomery fulfilled the order, he shipped an additional 10,000 pills to a second Southern Oregon address. Montgomery concealed the counterfeit pills in over-the-counter pill bottles packaged among various toiletries. Investigators later obtained videos Montgomery had allegedly created and used to sell the counterfeit pills on social media.
On May 9, 2023, Montgomery was arrested in Arizona. Today, he was ordered detained pending transfer to the District of Oregon.
Attempting to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl is punishable by up to 40 years in federal prison with a five-year mandatory minimum sentence, five years’ supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. It is being prosecuted by Marco A. Boccato, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys