Federal officials arrested four men for transporting what they thought were over 50 million lethal doses of heroin across state lines in January 2024.
TIGARD, Ore. — What federal officials initially billed as a drug bust involving 50 million lethal doses of heroin may have actually involved almost no heroin at all, according to court documents.
The case dates back to January 2024, when four men were arrested at a Motel 6 in Tigard after investigators said they were transporting a massive shipment of liquid heroin from Yakima, Washington, to the Portland area.
Officials said at the time that the men were driving a rented U-Haul truck with eight 55-gallon barrels inside and that seven of the barrels tested positive for heroin. Six men were eventually charged in connection with the case.
But analysis provided by a forensic chemist hired by a defense attorney has cast doubt on those findings. A chemist tested the barrels and determined they contained 99.999% water and just 0.001% heroin.
The chemist concluded that the diluted mixture rendered the heroin unusable — a sharp contrast to federal authorities’ original estimate of “millions of lethal doses.”
Luis Deleon Woodward, 28, one of the defendants, had been in custody since January 2024. After the new evidence was presented, a judge sentenced him to time served and three years of supervised release, far less than the sentence he could have faced under the initial charges. Court filings indicate Woodward is also facing deportation to Mexico.
Another defendant, Marco Antonio Magallon, is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Portland declined to comment on the case, citing pending litigation.
A military judge sentenced Pvt. Deron Gordon to over six years in prison for sexually assaulting a college student.
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. — A Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier who sexually assaulted a college student in the barracks in 2024 was sentenced to more than six years in prison Friday.
A military judge sentenced Pvt. Deron Gordon, 20, to six years and three months in prison after he pleaded guilty to one specification each of sexual assault, abusive sexual contact and as a principal to indecent recording.
Gordon was previously charged with additional crimes, but those were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Gordon is one of four soldiers who were charged in in connection to the sexual assault of a college student, who is now a commissioned Army officer, in October 2024.
When Gordon pleaded guilty, he said that he and another soldier followed the college student into a bedroom after she had been drinking with them. He said she was unstable walking into the room and when they went inside she was on the bed and not responsive.
Gordon said he and the other soldier each proceeded to have sex with her and they filmed each other sexually assaulting her on Snapchat.
As part of his sentencing, Gordon will be reduced in rank to E-1 and dishonorably discharged from the Army.
Gordon will serve the remainder of his sentencing at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Once he is released, Gordon must register as a sex offender.
The three other soldiers who were charged in the incident are at different points in the legal process, and their cases are being treated separately.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. Additional resources are available on the Washington State Department of Health's website.
KING 5’s Conner Board contributed to this report.
