Brothers Sentenced to Federal Prison for Delivery of Heroin Resulting in Death

PORTLAND, Ore. - Gerardo Chalke Lopez (a.k.a. “La Loca”), 41, and Sergio Quezada-Lopez (a.k.a. “Cheche” , 36, of Nayarit, Mexico, appeared for sentencing on April 28 and April 29, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Michael Simon.  The brothers were sentenced to 18 and 15 years prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute heroin, that resulted in death of a young woman.  The brothers were also sentenced each to 27 months prison on illegal re-entry charges to run concurrent with the drug sentences.

The investigation began on April 16, 2012 when police officers responded to the Keizer, Oregon residence of 21 year old Laurin Putnam, who was found deceased.  The initial investigation indicated that her death was likely caused by a heroin overdose and later confirmed by the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office.  Soon after her death, investigators learned the identity of the last person in the chain that was responsible for distributing the heroin to Putnam that caused her death.  From there, investigators were able to identify several conspirators and move six levels up the chain of distribution to brothers Gerardo Chalke Lopez and Sergio Quezada-Lopez.  During the investigation, agents learned that the brothers were higher level members of a large scale conspiracy involving the distribution of significant quantities of heroin in Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Colorado.

The investigation of the case was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) through its Salem DEA Drug Task Force, and the Keizer Police Department with assistance from the Salem Police Department; the Marion County Sheriff's Office; the Oregon State Police; the Washington County Interagency Narcotics Team (WIN); the Portland Police Bureau; the Oregon State Medical Examiner; the Clark-Skamania Drug Task Force; the Oregon Department of Justice; and, the Portland based Highway Interdiction Team.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kemp Strickland and Kathleen Bickers.