Portland fentanyl dealer arrested over and over but continued to sell - until feds stepped in

PORTLAND, OR - A report from OregonLive details the many times one fentanyl dealer continued to sell the lethal drug even though he had been arrested time and time again. 

The dealer, identified as 27-year-old William Sanchez Stevenson, sold fentanyl, methamphetamine, and counterfeit pills out in the open for nearly two years. Catch and release became routine for Stevenson and it wasn't until the federal government stepped in that he was finally put behind bars.

Stevenson, for years, would frequent the streets of Portland as if they were his own marketplace. Police said that arrest after arrest, he would return to dealing. According to a Multnomah County deputy district attorney, it took the federal government stepping in to finally stop the cycle. Between July 2021 and February 2024, Portland police arrested Stevenson 11 times on accusations including drug dealing and possession of illegal firearms, counterfeit pills, and stolen vehicles.

Portland Officer Eli Arnold said in a statement, "There was just a period where you'd go to the spot for surveillance and wait to see who showed up to deal fentanyl, and he just kept appearing. It's kind of weird to be like, 'Oh, look, there's William again.'" In March 2023, officers observed Stevenson allegedly selling fentanyl and methamphetamine near downtown's Washington Center. 

When they caught him, they said he had 30.3 grams of powdered fentanyl, 944 counterfeit fentanyl pills, 15.6 grams of methamphetamine, and $356 in cash. Court documents said that he admitted to selling drugs three times a week, estimating he had distributed thousands of counterfeit pills in just a handful of months.

Some of the blue pills were labeled with a large M, mimicking the oxycodone from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. Stevenson reportedly carried enough cash on him to easily post bail after every arrest, when bail was imposed. Arnold said that it frustrated him and his team, so they raised their concerns with the district attorney's office.

Deputy District Attorney Eric Pickard, who prosecuted several of Stevenson's cases, said his behavior made him stand out. Pickard said, "His bail amounts were so easy to post that they were meaningless. He learned he could just continue business as usual."

In February 2024, Stevenson's 11th arrest changed the course of his case. Police said they caught him with a loaded firearm, 27.6 grams of fentanyl, and $315 in cash near Northwest Everett Street. However, that time, federal authorities issued a U.S. Marshals hold. Pickard said, "That federal hold was the turning point. Without it, he would have been back out."

Stevenson was held behind bars from February to September and was facing multiple federal charges. On September 27th, he pleaded guilty in state court to possession and delivery of controlled substances, possession of a forged instrument, unlawful possession of a firearm, and possession of a stolen vehicle. By doing this, he avoided federal convictions. 

On November 4th, Multnomah County Circuit Judge Andrew Lavin sentenced Stevenson to seven and a half years in prison. Arnold, the arresting officer, reflected on the challenge of dealing with Stevenson over the years. He said, "The way I look at it, we're the intake. We catch the guy, turn him over, and then what happens next can be confusing, even to me. 

Downtown has really developed like an organized, coordinated street fentanyl-dealing 'thing' in the last two or three years. The interesting thing about William, the reason why he sticks out, is just because of how many times he got caught. No matter how many times he was arrested, he was not deterred."