OAKLAND — In the East Bay, Luis Fernando Olivia Torres was one in a sea of drug dealers who make their living off peddling methamphetamine and fentanyl in the densely populated region.
But in Josephine County, Ore., Torres was allegedly known as “Cali Chris,” the man who — despite living 400 miles away — managed to corner the fentanyl market in the region with lucrative results, until he got caught.
Now, Torres is headed to federal prison, after U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam sentenced him on May 28 to four years behind bars for pleading guilty to multiple drug offenses, court records show.
Prosecutors say Torres was identified by police in Oregon as “a — if not the — primary supplier of fentanyl to street-level drug dealers in Josephine County, Oregon,” who would buy the drug in bulk and transport it up north, where the supply/demand ratio better favors sellers. When Torres was arrested in Oakland last year, he had 14 pounds of methamphetamine, 3.5 pounds of fentanyl and roughly $30,000 in cash, according to a sentencing memo filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Torres was charged after an undercover operation. Drug agents got an unnamed informant to introduce them to “Cali Chris,” and conducted three undercover drug buys from him, from October 2023 to January 2024. Then they arrested him in May 2024, prosecutors said.
In the last two undercover buys, drug agents obtained about a pound of methamphetamine and a half-pound of fentanyl each time, prosecutors said in court filings.
Torres’ lawyer wrote in court filings that Torres grew up poverty stricken in Honduras, which he attributed to “a long history of U.S. interventions such as CIA backed coups meant to prevent left-leaning reforms, in favor of workers and the local environment, from taking hold.” Proceeds from his “well-meaning criminality” were sent to his family back home to help them, a defense sentencing memo says.
The defense sentencing memo including letters of support, including one by his uncle in Miami, describing Torres as “a man of strong values, always ready to extend a helping hand without hesitation.”
“I have personally experienced his kindness and generosity, whether through his unwavering emotional support or his willingness to help in any way he can. One particular moment that stands out is when he went out of his way to help a friend who was going through a difficult time,” his uncle wrote. “Without thinking twice, he provided transportation, financial assistance, and most importantly, a steady source of emotional strength.”