Oregon Man Gets 3 Years for Selling Fatal Dose of Fentanyl to Childhood Friend

JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. — Enrique Rodriguez-Banuelos (32) has been sentenced to 37 months in a federal prison for selling a $20 packet of fentanyl powder to an old school friend who died from toxicity.

Friend Had Been Sober For More Than Four Years

Evidence on Wednesday was that Travis Rister (29) had been sober for more than four years when he was found dead in his White City home by his wife at 2.15 a.m. on November 11, 2023. A small bag containing the fentanyl and a straw was found near the unconscious man.

Rister had won full custody of his son, a two-year-old toddler, earlier that year.

The court heard that Rodriguez-Banuelos warned Rister that the fentanyl was potent and should be taken in small doses. Rister was pronounced dead by a Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputy on the scene.

After winning custody of his son from a previous relationship, Travis Rister married three months before his death.

Assistant Federal Public Defender Devin D. Huseby said Rodriguez-Banuelos also struggled with addiction but now lived in a sober environment together with others in recovery. He had completed drug and mental health treatment and held down a job at a Taco Bell.

The court heard that Rodriguez-Banuelos had initially refused to sell Rister the fentanyl, but had done so after his persistent pleas. The sale was made to a friend and not for profit, said Huseby, requesting his client be sentenced to house arrest and community service.

Rodriguez-Banuelos has been given until September 11 to surrender and start serving his prison sentence.