Local News

A well-known Jackson County drug dealer was sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison after law enforcement located large quantities of drugs -- including fentanyl -- and a firearm in his abandoned vehicle.

According to the US Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon, 36-year-old Anthony Ross Minneci was sentenced this month to 188 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release.

According to court documents, following his release from prison for drug trafficking and possessing a firearm in January 2019, Minneci resumed selling drugs throughout Southern Oregon. From early 2019 to March 2022, the suspect was charged in multiple cases in Jackson and Josephine County Circuit Courts for drug trafficking, illegally possessing firearms and eluding police.

On January 1, 2022, a Jackson County sheriff's deputy observed a vehicle failing to stop at an intersection and driving at a high rate of speed. The deputy identified Minneci as the driver and pursued him briefly before he got away. Later that evening, investigators found the vehicle unoccupied in a rural area, but were unable to locate the suspect.

Four days later, investigators executed a search warrant on the vehicle and located fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine as well as a firearm, ammunition and drug paraphernalia. They also found Minneci's driver's license and other identifying items.

On March 15, 2022, Minneci was arrested in Siskiyou County, California, after another attempt to elude police. At the time of his arrest, he was found to be in possession of fentanyl, meth and two firearms.

On May 5, 2022, a federal grand jury in Medford returned a three-count indictment charging Minneci with Possessing Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute, Illegally Possessing Ammunition as a Convicted Felon and Possessing Firearms in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime. Minneci pleaded guilty in February of this year to Possessing a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute.