Oregon man who provided fentanyl pill that killed his 17-year-old stepbrother sentenced to 5 years

Max Gonzalez, a 17-year-old South Medford High School student, had asked his stepbrother for some "percs," slang for Percocet pills.

His 20-year-old stepbrother, Hunter Fenstermaker, took Gonzalez with him to the home of his dealer and paid $30 for one pill.

As Fenstermaker arranged the sale, his dealer sent him a text message, "Be careful you know how much stronger those are."

Gonzalez crushed up the blue pill and snorted it with his stepbrother. They each ingested "two lines" of the pill at about 10:40 p.m. on Sept. 6, 2021, Fenstermaker said.

Around 8:30 a.m. the next morning, Gonzalez was found dead. He died from fentanyl poisoning, an autopsy found.

On Thursday, relatives of the teenager killed and the now 23-year-old stepbrother who shared the deadly pill addressed U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane in federal court in Medford before the judge sentenced Fenstermaker to five years in prison.

They struggled to make sense of what happened.

While they tried to be supportive of Fenstermaker, several said they were angered that he didn't protect his younger sibling.

"It was a violation of our core family values - to love, respect and care for each other," said Gonzalez's grandmother, Gail Moroney.

Gonzalez was an only child of his mom, Kim Fenstermaker, and was excited when he suddenly had an older brother to look up to in their blended family, his grandmother said. He was still in high school and died just one week after he turned 17. A memorial collage of photos showed him wearing his high school football jersey, driving and accompanying a girlfriend to a high school dance.

Shawn Fenstermaker, Hunter's dad and Max's stepfather, found Max unconscious that September morning and attempted to revive him. He then called his wife to break the horrendous news of her son's death.

"I have grief and guilt," he told the judge in court.

"Max was so young. He loved you so much," he said, directing his comments to his son. The younger boy looked to Hunter to protect him, Hunter's father said.

Through tears, Max's mom, Kim Fenstermaker, told her stepson, "I truly do forgive you," adding, "but I need accountability."

She was blunt, telling her stepson that when she hears him talking about how he's done well in his own substance abuse treatment and is "doing better" that it truly hurts her, "and I need you to know that."

She said she experienced chills that wouldn't go away when she woke up Thursday and prepared to attend the sentencing. While she said she felt anguished and concerned about her stepson's well-being, she also questioned why, because, " the one with the major loss, here."

She continued, "Your selfishness took everything."

While Hunter Fenstermaker has no prior criminal record, Assistant U.S. Attorney Marco Bocatto urged a sentence of seven years and four months.

"This was not an accident," Bocatto argued. Hunter Fenstermaker knew the pill was potent and was aware of the risk to his stepbrother - "a young kid still in high school who had a whole life in front of him," he said.

Hunter Fenstermaker's defense lawyer, Donald L. Scales, urged a sentence of one year and one day. He said his client helped police identify the suppliers of the pill, leading to the arrest of three others.

Hunter Fenstermaker was released from custody nine days after his arrest and began substance-abuse treatment. He graduated from the treatment eight months later. He is now working at a concrete and construction company, participates in a Christian youth ministry in Medford and wants to someday start a roofing business, his lawyer said.

"There's not a day that goes by when I don't think about what happened," Hunter Fenstermaker told the judge. He said he's using his stepbrother's death as a motivator so others "don't make the mistake" that he did.

"I loved Max," he said. "I'm sorry for everything."

McShane said the case before him involving the fentanyl overdose of one teen who obtained the pill from his stepbrother is like "no case I've ever seen before."

While Hunter Fenstermaker was only 20 at the time of the offense and suffered from his own drug addiction, he is responsible for the death, the judge said. While out of custody on pretrial release, he also got into a bar fight, which the judge called concerning.

"Juvenile thinking, not thinking...that's why we're here," McShane said. "Mr. Fenstermaker, you seem a little flat. ... I do think you're going to have to figure how you're going to deal with all of these emotions. How you're going to move on and get the support you need from your family."

The judge said he had no idea what would be an adequate sentence yet not too severe before he chose a five year sentence and ordered Fenstermaker to start serving it on Nov. 6.

Others in the drug supply chain were also sentenced Thursday.

Co-defendant Napolean Gomez was 19 and addicted to fentanyl when he sold the fake Percocet pill to Fenstermaker. He admitted he knew the pill contained fentanyl, according to the prosecutor.

Earlier on the night of Sept. 6, 2021, Gomez had bought four pills from his supplier, Conner Francis, who was later arrested. The month before the overdose death, another man, John Rocha, had sold 2,000 fentanyl pills to Francis for $10,000, according to court records.

Rocha, 31, of Medford, was sentenced to six years and six months. Gomez, now 22, of Medford, got a seven year and three month sentence and Francis, 27, of Portland, was sentenced to six years and one month prison term.

"Drug trafficking is selfish. For money, individuals push a poison out into the community, " Boccato told the court. "These drugs, especially fentanyl, destroy communities, tear up families and cut lives short."

- Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice. Reach her at 503-221-8212, , follow her on X , or on LinkedIn .