Gresham Man Caught Selling Drugs to Minors Online Faces Federal Charges

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Gresham, Oregon man is facing federal charges today after he was caught using Telegram, an encrypted messaging service, to sell various controlled substances to minors.

Timothy Jeffrey Monahan, 31, has been charged by criminal complaint with possessing with intent to distribute cocaine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

“Drug trafficking has had an alarming impact on children in our communities. We thank the FBI, Clackamas County Interagency Task Force, and all our law enforcement partners for their continued focus on holding accountable individuals that target children,” said Natalie Wight, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

According to court documents, early in 2024, law enforcement obtained information that an individual, later determined to be Monahan, was allegedly using Telegram to advertise the sale of various illegal narcotics including cocaine, LSD, ketamine, DMT, psilocybin mushrooms, and various marijuana and vaping products. Monahan is alleged to have used the Telegram usernames “Thepdxyokai” and “Yokai” to advertise and broker the sale of narcotics and used an adult drug runner to deliver the drugs to customers on his behalf. 

On June 7, 2024, investigators executed federal search warrants on Monahan’s residence and vehicle wherein they located and seized quantities of cocaine and psilocybin mushrooms, two loaded firearms, drug packaging materials and scales, and more than $106,000 in cash. After he was placed under arrest, Monahan admitted to operating the Telegram accounts located by investigators to sell narcotics to a customer based composed mostly of minors. Monahan further admitted to trading controlled substances in exchange for sex acts or sexually explicit photos from his customers.

Monahan made his first appearance in federal court today before a U.S. Magistrate Judge and was ordered detained pending further court proceedings.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Clackamas County Interagency Task Force (CCITF). It is being prosecuted by Scott M. Kerin, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

CCITF, led by the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, works to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating in and around Clackamas County, and reduce illegal drugs and related crimes throughout the community. The task force is comprised of members of the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, Canby Police Department, Oregon State Police, FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). CCITF is supported by the Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program.

The Oregon-Idaho HIDTA program is an Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) sponsored counterdrug grant program that coordinates with and provides funding resources to multi-agency drug enforcement initiatives.