{"id":34833,"date":"2024-07-08T14:19:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-08T14:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/fentanyl-dealer-caught-during-nba-game\/"},"modified":"2024-07-08T14:19:00","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T14:19:00","slug":"fentanyl-dealer-caught-during-nba-game","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/fentanyl-dealer-caught-during-nba-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Fentanyl Dealer Caught During NBA Game"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sometimes the wheels of justice turn slowly, but eventually they do turn. Such was the case for Billy Ray Trueblood, who was finally sentenced in May of this year for charges in connection with the 2019 death of accountant Alex Reser. Authorities say that Trueblood sold Reser counterfeit Oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl, which resulted in Reser&rsquo;s death from overdose.<\/p>\n\n<p>According to federal officials, the investigation zeroed in on Trueblood fairly quickly, as he was known for dealing opioids like Fentanyl. But they&rsquo;d been unable to locate Trueblood until May of 2019, when one of the investigators happened to be watching the Portland Trail Blazers in an NBA playoff game and saw Trueblood captured on camera, seated just a few rows behind Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. Federal officials notified local police on hand at the arena, and Trueblood was arrested without incident.<\/p>\n\n<p>At Trueblood&rsquo;s sentencing hearing, Reser&rsquo;s loved ones asked U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman for a harsh sentence. His father, Marty Reser, said in court:<\/p>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>[Alex] had so much to live for, but he died one day after we returned [from vacation]. For Billy, it was all about the buck &hellip; We were hoping for justice because our son Alex is not coming back &hellip; No one will ever again have the opportunity to spend time, create more memories with Alex.<\/p>\n<p>\n\n<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<p>Trueblood was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and four years of supervised release.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading is-style-article-subhead2\">Possible Preaching Angle:<\/h2>\n\n<p><em>Even when people think we&rsquo;re successful at hiding from God, it&rsquo;s all a fantasy. God knows us down to our core and there are consequences for sin. &ldquo;&hellip; you may be sure that your sin will find you out&rdquo; (Num. 32:23).<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3380,3541,3818,3830,4110,4147,4546,4564,4565,4699,4744,4745,4899,5129],"tax_ctp_topics":[393,395],"class_list":["post-34833","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-addiction","tax_ctp_tags-camera","tax_ctp_tags-divine-knowledge","tax_ctp_tags-drugs","tax_ctp_tags-guilt","tax_ctp_tags-hiddenness","tax_ctp_tags-news-that-illustrates","tax_ctp_tags-omnipresence-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-omniscience-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-presence-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-punishment","tax_ctp_tags-punishment-for-sin","tax_ctp_tags-secrets","tax_ctp_tags-technology"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Fentanyl Dealer Caught During NBA Game - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/fentanyl-dealer-caught-during-nba-game\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fentanyl Dealer Caught During NBA Game - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sometimes the wheels of justice turn slowly, but eventually they do turn. Such was the case for Billy Ray Trueblood, who was finally sentenced in May of this year for charges in connection with the 2019 death of accountant Alex Reser. Authorities say that Trueblood sold Reser counterfeit Oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl, which resulted Read more...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/fentanyl-dealer-caught-during-nba-game\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/ogimage.png?resize=1200,628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CTpastors\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/fentanyl-dealer-caught-during-nba-game\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/fentanyl-dealer-caught-during-nba-game\/\",\"name\":\"Fentanyl Dealer Caught During NBA Game - CT Pastors\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-08T14:19:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-08T14:19:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/fentanyl-dealer-caught-during-nba-game\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/fentanyl-dealer-caught-during-nba-game\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/fentanyl-dealer-caught-during-nba-game\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Fentanyl Dealer Caught During NBA Game\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\",\"name\":\"CT Pastors\",\"description\":\"Timeless wisdom for pastors with forward-thinking solutions\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Christianity Today\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg\",\"caption\":\"Christianity Today\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/CTpastors\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Fentanyl Dealer Caught During NBA Game - CT Pastors","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/fentanyl-dealer-caught-during-nba-game\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Fentanyl Dealer Caught During NBA Game - CT Pastors","og_description":"Sometimes the wheels of justice turn slowly, but eventually they do turn. 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