Three drug suppliers face federal prison sentences for their involvement in the fatal fentanyl overdose of a Medford teenager

MEDFORD, Ore. (KTVZ) – Three Oregon men were sentenced Thursday to five to more than seven years in federal prison for distributing fentanyl that caused the overdose death of a Medford teenager, prosecutors said.

Hunter Fenstermaker, 23, of Medford, was sentenced to 60 months in prison and six years of probation; Napoleon Gomez, 22, also of Medford, was sentenced to 87 months in prison and six years of probation; and Conner Lee Francis, 27, of Portland, Oregon, was sentenced to 73 months in prison and four years of probation.

All three were also ordered to pay compensation to the victim's family.

According to court documents, on September 7, 2021, Medford Police officers responded to a report of the overdose death of a 17-year-old high school student. Investigators soon discovered that the teen had taken a counterfeit Percocet pill laced with fentanyl, and within days identified Fenstermaker, Gomez and Francis as the teen's first-, second- and third-level drug suppliers.

On February 3, 2022, a grand jury in federal court in Medford issued five-count indictments against Fenstermaker and Gomez for distribution of fentanyl, and against Francis for possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.

On April 9 and June 17, 2024, Fenstermaker and Gomez pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl to a person under the age of 21. On June 24, 2024, Francis pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl with the intent to resell.

On May 14, 2024, a fourth defendant – John Rocha, 31, of Medford – was sentenced to 70 months in a federal prison for his role in the overdose death of the Medford teenager. Rocha was the teenager's fourth-level drug supplier.

This case was investigated by the FBI, the Medford Police Department, and the Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement Team (MADGE). The prosecution was led by Marco A. Boccato, Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Oregon.

MADGE is a multi-jurisdictional drug task force that identifies, disrupts, and dismantles local, state, and international drug trafficking organizations using an intelligence-driven approach supported by multi-agency prosecutors. MADGE is supported by the Oregon-Idaho High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) and is comprised of members of the Medford Police Department, Jackson County Sheriff's and District Attorney's Office, Jackson County Community Corrections, FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The Oregon-Idaho HIDTA program is an anti-drug grant program sponsored by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) that coordinates and provides funding for interagency anti-drug initiatives.