Fentanyl dealer who killed assailant during shakedown takes deal to avoid federal prosecution

A fentanyl dealer who

killed a man who was trying to rob

him last year has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Luis F. Gutierrez-Media had been

lured

to a Southwest Capitol Highway strip mall around 3 a.m. Jan. 13, 2024, to sell fentanyl-laced pills — but when he got there, he was robbed at gunpoint by two men and a woman.

As they left,

Gutierrez-Medina

pulled out his own pistol and fired three shots into the trio’s Ford Explorer, striking 35-year-old

Joshua Page

in the head, court records show.

During a quiet hearing in February, the now 21-year-old Gutierrez-Medina pleaded guilty to one count of criminally negligent homicide and was sentenced.

“Sometimes we get mixed up with people we shouldn’t get involved with, and we do things we shouldn’t do,” Gutierrez-Medina said in court. “I want to ask forgiveness from God for my sins.”

His attorney, John Gutbezahl, said his client was ready to argue at trial that the shooting was in self-defense, but learned that federal prosecutors were considering charges of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug offense, which carries a mandatory five-year punishment.

Gutbezahl said it made more sense to take the

state deal

with the possibility of a reduced sentence, saying federal prosecutors had guaranteed not to go forward with their case if Gutierrez-Medina did so.

Circuit Judge Benjamin Souede granted Gutierrez-Medina credit for time served and ruled he was eligible to earn time off for good behavior.

Page’s family watched the hearing remotely from Tennessee, but did not address the court.

“I want to acknowledge the limitations of the power of the court or any human being to account for the loss of Mr. Page,” Souede said. “His death is a tragedy, and certainly his family doesn’t need me to say that they know it.”

—Zane Sparling covers breaking news and courts for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at 503-319-7083,


zsparling@oregonian.com


or


@pdxzane


.

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