Gary Lee Hewitt, the Executive Director of local nonprofit St. Vincent de Paul was arrested on Aug. 15 for the distribution of commercial quantities of Methamphetamine. The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office determined 58-year-old Hewitt was selling commercial amounts of the drug from his residence in Redmond, Oregon.
Sheriff’s Office detectives, along with detectives from the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement team, executed a search warrant at Hewitt’s residence, which is located within 1000 feet of two separate schools, and located a commercial quantity of methamphetamine, scales, packaging material and US currency, according to a press release.
Hewitt was charged with unlawful possession of Methamphetamine and unlawful delivery of methamphetamine within 1000 feet of a school.
St. Vincent de Paul is a nonprofit organization that provides food, clothing, utility, propane, prescriptions and transitional housing to families and individuals in need. In 2022, it opened up St. Vincent’s Place, a tiny house village with 10-units that operates as transitional housing.
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And this is a perfect example of why homeless shelters should not be located near neighborhoods, parks or schools. Our city and county really need to address addiction and mental health issues and create proper high barrier facilities to address this. This is the second individual in Central Oregon in the past few months that is the director of a shelter being arrested for inappropriate and unlawful conduct.