PORTLAND, Ore.—A local man is facing federal charges today for distributing counterfeit Oxycodone pills containing fentanyl that caused the overdose death of a Portland teenager.
Nasir Overton, 20, a resident of Portland, has been charged by criminal complaint with one count each of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, resulting in death, and distributing and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl, resulting in death.
According to court documents, on September 20, 2023, a detective from the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) responded to a local hospital after receiving a report of a 15-year-old who had fatally overdosed on fentanyl. The detective learned that the day prior, the teenager had ingested a single counterfeit Oxycodone pill containing fentanyl and overdosed. The teenager was pronounced dead four days later. Further investigation revealed that the teen received the fatal pill from a friend who had purchased two pills from Overton, who went by the alias “Noni.”
Overton was arrested Thursday without incident in Portland and made his first appearance in federal court today before a U.S. Magistrate Judge. He was ordered detained pending further court proceedings.
If convicted, Overton faces a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), PPB, and the Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Interdiction Task Force (HIT). It is being prosecuted by Scott M. Kerin, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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