QuickTake:

A judge denied a request for a lower sentence for Jennifer Blake. Her defense attorney said Blake “felt crushed under the pressure of financial ruin and medical debt.” Many former 4J co-workers wrote letters in her support.

A federal judge Thursday, Sept. 3, sentenced Jennifer Blake, a former Eugene School District 4J psychologist, to six years in prison for her role in running an online marketplace for illegal drugs.

U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargus Jr. rejected a request for a lower sentence from a defense attorney who argued Blake’s need for open-heart surgery and a brain tumor diagnosis led to her involvement in the drug-selling operation.

“Ms. Blake lost her faith and gave into fear and doubt and felt crushed under the pressure of financial ruin and medical debt, which led to her involvement in the present case,” defense attorney Brian Rigg wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

Blake and her wife, Amandra Heffelfinger — formerly a school psychologist in the Linn Benton Lincoln Education Service District — helped run an online site selling illicit drugs out of their home in Lebanon, prosecutors said.

Authorities seized about $320,000 in “drug-money cryptocurrency” from Blake, according to court documents filed by prosecutors in December. Citing loan applications, documents previously filed by prosecutors stated that Blake earned $55,992 per year from her district employment and Heffelfinger earned $69,996.

An order from Sargus filed Thursday stated that Blake must forfeit about 2.5 bitcoin and 15.85 monero, another cryptocurrency. The cryptocurrencies fluctuate in value.

Rigg wrote that Blake had no previous criminal record, except for an arrest when she was 16 years old. Blake went through a diversion program to resolve the charge, Rigg said.

In the memo to Sargus, Rigg requested a sentence below what he described as the guideline range of between 57 and 71 months, also citing letters of support from co-workers at 4J, where Blake worked at the time of her October 2025 arrest. Blake was 39 years old when indicted last October.

Heffelfinger was sentenced Aug. 13 to 19 months in prison. A third co-conspirator, Jesse Wasson, was sentenced Thursday by Sargus to 7½ years in prison, with all the cases decided in U.S. District Court in Southern Ohio.

In her own two-page letter to the court, Blake wrote: “While I experienced significant personal and medical hardships, those circumstances do not excuse the choices I made. I deeply regret my conduct and the harm it caused.”

Blake pleaded guilty April 23 to one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.

In his sentencing memorandum, Rigg laid out a timeline for Blake’s involvement in an online marketplace known as Rocky Mountain Connections that, according to prosecutors, sold methamphetamine, cocaine and LSD, among other drugs, to buyers around the country.

Blake met Wasson in 2019 when living in Las Vegas, and they became close friends, staying in touch daily despite Blake moving to Oregon and Wasson moving to Colorado, according to Rigg’s memorandum.

Blake visited an emergency room in 2024 because of chest pain, eventually leading to a diagnosis that she needed open-heart surgery to replace her aortic valve after an aortic root aneurysm. Also in 2024, in February, doctors discovered a brain tumor after Blake visited an emergency room because of a migraine headache.

Medical debt “began to accumulate,” Rigg wrote.

During this time, Wasson “proposed a solution” to Blake with the online drug business, Rigg wrote in the memorandum. 

“While Ms. Blake believed the business was only for marijuana and mushrooms, later, Ms. Blake realized other drugs were involved. Ms. Blake regrettably remained in the business, packing shipments and ordering shipping supplies, for financial security,” Riggs wrote.

Support from 4J colleagues

Blake began working for the 4J district in August 2022 and, while not working in schools after her arrest, remained employed until last December.

At 4J, Blake provided services to children enrolled at Chávez Elementary School and Twin Oaks Elementary School.

Cindy Hamel, who described herself as a third-grade teacher for over 20 years, wrote that she was “genuinely shocked” to learn of charges against Blake, according to a court filing.

“In my experience, Jenn is a kind, compassionate, and empathetic person. She consistently demonstrated integrity, professionalism, and a sincere desire to help others,” Hamel wrote. 

“While I understand the seriousness of the situation before the court, I believe it is important to consider the positive qualities Jenn has demonstrated throughout her life and career. She has made a meaningful difference in the lives of many students, families, and colleagues,” Hamel wrote.

A total of 17 former colleagues from Blake’s time as a 4J employee wrote letters of support, including Debbie Miller, who wrote that she worked as a counselor at Twin Oaks and shared an office with Blake for three years.

Miller wrote that she began to think of Blake as a daughter, and described her former colleague as “one who genuinely cared about the students she worked with,” calling Blake “very gifted in her field.”

In his sentencing memorandum, Rigg wrote that Blake has been diagnosed with ADHD but, because of her heart condition, is unable to take commonly prescribed medications to treat the condition. Miller, in her letter, described witnessing Blake struggle at times with anxiety, and said she believed a video call with a brain surgeon led to “despair and desperation.”

Miller wrote that she was shocked to learn of the arrests, and “immediately questioned whether Jenn was an imposter, who had been fooling me all this time.”

But after “many conversations” with a sister of Blake’s and other friends, Miller said she believes “this huge life mistake was in fact an anomaly.”

“In her last several months in jail, I have maintained regular weekly video calls with Jenn. She has shared with me her hopes for the future, knowing that it will be a difficult road, but one that she can manage with the support of her friends and family,” Miller wrote. “I will continue to support her, wherever she lands, and will not give up on her.”

Blake, in her own letter to the court, wrote that she faces a future open-heart surgery and possibly a future brain surgery, but “if given the opportunity” hopes to obtain a doctorate in neuropsychology “with research focused on ADHD, addiction, and recidivism.”

“I hope to use both my education and the lessons I have learned through my own experiences to support and guide others who find themselves in moments of hopelessness, offering the understanding and encouragement that can help them see a path forward,” Blake wrote.