Nurse Sentenced for Trafficking Heroin, Aug. 13

PORTLAND, Ore.—A former nurse from Vancouver, Washington was sentenced to federal prison today for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances, announced U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams.  Rene Elene Griffin Nunn, 60, was sentenced to eight months in prison and 3 years’ supervised release. At the time of the offense, Nunn was a registered nurse at Adventist Medical Center in Portland. According to court documents, in February 2018, Nunn and co-conspirator Darlene Michelle Sturdevant, 62, also of Vancouver, drove from Vancouver to Portland with approximately 87 grams of heroin in Nunn’s purse. Based on a joint investigation conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Clackamas County Interagency Task Force (CCITF), Nunn was located and arrested driving into Portland. On November 27, 2018, a federal grand jury in Portland indicted Nunn with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. On October 31, 2019, she pleaded guilty to the same charge. On January 22, 2020, Sturdevant was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison and five years’ supervised release for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin throughout the Portland Metropolitan Area, possessing with intent to distribute heroin, and committing an offense while on release pending sentencing. This case was investigated by the DEA and CCITF and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon. The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.