Executive director of St. Vincent de Paul in Bend arrested and accused of selling meth from his Redmond home near two schools

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Gary Lee Hewitt, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul University in Bend, was arrested Thursday and arraigned Friday on charges of trafficking and possession of methamphetamine. He is accused of selling commercial quantities of the drug from his Redmond home, which is just 1,000 feet from two schools.

The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office Street Crimes Unit concluded a short-term investigation Thursday with the arrest of Hewitt, 58, of Redmond, said Sergeant Jason Wall.

Investigators found that Hewitt was selling the drug in commercial quantities from his home in southwest Redmond, Wall said, adding that they also learned of Hewitt's role as executive director of the nonprofit St. Vincent De Paul of Bend.

Investigators requested and obtained a search warrant for Hewitt's home. Assisted by investigators from the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement (CODE) team and sheriff's patrol officers, investigators executed the search warrant and found a commercial-grade amount of meth, as well as scales, packaging materials and U.S. currency, Wall said.

Hewitt was booked into the county jail and arraigned Friday afternoon. He was charged with delivery of meth within 1,000 feet of a school (a Class A felony) and possession of “substantial quantities” of the drug (a Class C felony). He was being held without bail Friday afternoon, according to jail records.

District attorney documents filed by Assistant District Attorney Andrew Doyle state the possession was a “commercial drug offense” because Hewitt possessed cash valued at $300 or more, materials for packaging and selling drugs, and controlled substances in quantities of more than eight grams.

According to court records, Hewitt was charged in February and is scheduled to enter a guilty plea on Sept. 3 to failure to report a sex offender.

They also show that Hewitt was arrested in 2011 on 10 counts of first-degree child sexual abuse, pleaded guilty to two counts and was sentenced to 30 months in prison with 10 years' probation. In 2009, he also pleaded guilty on conditional grounds to meth possession and second-degree theft.

NewsChannel 21 has reached out to St. Vincent de Paul for comment or a statement on Hewitt's arrest.