FBI Manhunt Ends with Oregon Drug Trafficker Sentenced to Nine Years After Seizure of Narcotics and Modified Firearms

An Oregon man who missed his sentencing last year was yesterday handed a nine-year federal prison term for trafficking drugs. Authorities say the case involved more than 40 pounds of fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine.

FBI Agents Discovered 3,000 Fake Fentanyl Pills and a Firearm Modified to Operate as a Machine Gun

Rico Anthony Russell Rigutto (46) was arrested in a traffic stop when FBI agents seized 3,000 counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and a firearm with a Glock switch that converts a firearm into a fully automatic machine gun.

According to court documents, Rigutto was arrested after agents observed him arriving and leaving a property known to be a ‘safe house’ where meetings and drug exchanges took place. Agents arranged to buy counterfeit oxycodone pills from Rigutto and then set up a traffic stop at which he was apprehended.

During a search of Rigutto’s home, investigators seized 20,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills, 28 pounds of methamphetamine, six pounds of heroin, approximately $100,000 in cash, and 15 firearms—including a handgun modified with a conversion switch and an AR-15 rifle.

According to a news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oregon, the case against Rigutto dates back to 19 January 2022 when he appeared before a federal grand jury that found him guilty on a four-count indictment involving the possession of fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine, as well as the possession of a machine gun for use in a drug trafficking crime.

Rigutto pleaded guilty to the possession of fentanyl, with the intent to distribute, when he appeared in court on 18 April 2023. However, a warrant for his arrest was issued when he failed to appear for sentencing on 5 March 2024.

Rigutto was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service on 2 August 2024.

At his court hearing yesterday, Rigutto was also sentenced to five years of supervision when he is released from prison.

This was a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Salem Police Department and the case was prosecuted by Scott M. Kerin, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.