Beaverton man sentenced after selling 'blues' causing fatal overdose
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A Beaverton man was sentenced to federal prison on Tuesday after selling fentanyl pills to a man who died from an overdose in 2019, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon.
Officials said 33-year-old Billy Ray Trueblood II was sentenced to over three years in prison with four years of supervised release for his role in the death.
In March 2019, investigators responded to a fatal overdose of a man in his early 30s, who was found unresponsive by his roommates, according to court documents. An autopsy later confirmed he died from an acute fentanyl overdose.
Officials said the man became addicted to opioids after using prescription painkillers in college to deal with athletic injuries. Investigators learned he had been buying drugs from Trueblood since college and recently sent him text messages to buy “blues,” a term used to describe counterfeit Oxycodone pills made with fentanyl.
After the man’s overdose, investigators were unable to find Trueblood until one investigator spotted him on television at a Portland Trail Blazers game, officials said.
After another investigator confirmed Trueblood was at the game, they relayed the information to police at the game who arrested him.
During his arrest, Trueblood had a large amount of cash and several types of pills on him that resembled the pills found in the overdose victim’s bedroom.
On Nov. 10, 2020, Trueblood was charged by a federal grand jury in Portland with distributing fentanyl, distributing fentanyl resulting in death, and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl.
He later pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl on May 30, 2023.