Portland, OR-Multnomah County Judge Christopher Marshall sentenced Samantha Faye Smith and Delone Dominque Kelley on May 9th, 2025, to significant prison sentences resulting from an avoidable fentanyl overdose which caused serious physical injury to their son. The victim, who was three years old at the time, is now five years old. He remains significantly impacted by those injuries.
The plea agreements allowed the defendants to remain out of custody pending sentencing in order to get their affairs in order. Both defendants were warned that if they failed to appear at the original sentencing date, their prison sentences would be substantially increased. Neither defendant showed up for sentencing on April 4th as required by Judge Marshall.
Smith was sentenced to a total of 56 months in prison for the crimes of Criminal Mistreatment in the First Degree and Assault in the Third Degree. She also pled guilty to the crime of Failure to Appear in the First Degree.
In consideration of the fact that she did eventually turn herself in, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office asked Judge Marshall to take four months off of Smith’s sentence (which would have otherwise been 60 months prison).
Similarly, Judge Marshall sentenced Kelley to 75 months in prison (instead of 80 months prison) at the State’s request because he turned himself in.
Kelley previously pled guilty to Criminal Mistreatment in the First Degree and Assault in the Third Degree. Like Smith, he also pled guilty to Failure to Appear in the First Degree.
Both will be eligible for Alternative Incarceration Programs. In Oregon, the Alternative Incarceration Program (AIP) is an intensive prison program for select adults in custody to address criminal risk factors. Alternative incarceration was established by the 1993 Legislature with House Bill 2481, creating the Summit program. Ten years later, the 2003 Oregon Legislature authorized the Department of Corrections to establish residential AIPs that emphasize intensive alcohol and drug treatment (House Bill 2647).
Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Afton Coppedge prosecuted the case for the state.
After the sentencing she said:
“This case matters because there is a fentanyl epidemic in our community. We often think about fentanyl in the context of open air markets, people using on the streets and how it impacts individuals experiencing homelessness. But the reality is that there are children across this county who are living with fentanyl in their homes. And they are ingesting fentanyl at small levels and toxic levels. Kids need to be safe at home just like they need to be safe in the community. And so, we will hold people accountable even when that’s parents.”
Coppedge also commented on why the state asked the judge to reduce some of the extra prison time the parents agreed to before the original sentencing.
“It is a tragic case all around. There is no doubt in my mind that these parents love this child and that he loves them. Mr. Kelley and Ms. Smith knew the consequences of not showing up at the original sentencing and made that choice. I think that while the state wants to hold people accountable- we also recognize that when people ultimately make the right decision to turn themselves in as they did here, that there should be some acknowledgement for making good choices.”
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office would like to thank the Narcotics and Organized Crime Unit of the Portland Police Bureau for their hard work and persistence investigating this case, and for their exhaustive efforts to locate the defendants when they failed to appear at sentencing. We would also like to recognize the work of MCDA Victim Advocate Alie Aguilera for her compassion and care offered during this case.
THE FACTS:
On June 25, 2023 a three year old boy woke up in his home in Multnomah County excited to watch cartoons with his grandmother. His parents had made the decision to bring fentanyl into their home. The child ingested some of it which led to a life altering brain injury.