Heroin trafficker who prosecutors say supplied heroin that killed Portland woman gets 20-year sentence
A federal jury in June was unable to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Samuel Navarrette-Aguilar supplied the heroin that killed a 22-year-old Portland mother who overdosed in 2012.
But the federal judge who presided over the so-called “Len Bias” case said Tuesday that the evidence was strong enough to factor into the sentence for the 41-year-old, who was still found guilty of a lesser offense as well as two other drug crimes. U.S. District Judge Marco Hernandez sentenced Navarrette-Aguilar, a Mexican citizen living in Hubbard, to 20 years in prison on each charge. The terms are to run concurrently, he said....
But the judge’s finding sends a clear message to drug suppliers about being held responsible for overdose deaths...
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A co-defendant convicted in the case, Saul Guzman-Arias, died in November before sentencing.
