TACOMA, Wash. – A key member of a drug distribution ring selling fentanyl pills, methamphetamine, and heroin throughout the Puget Sound region was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 14 years in prison for his role in the conspiracy and for possessing firearms in furtherance of drug...

TACOMA, Wash. – A 32-year-old Renton, Washington resident was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 13 years in prison for his role in a drug trafficking ring connected to Aryan prison gangs, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Shawn Ellis was arrested in March 2023, when...

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – A Fairbanks man was sentenced today to over 14 years in prison for possessing with intent to sell over 12 kilograms of controlled substances. According to court documents, beginning in August 2023, law enforcement received information that Kevin Shank, 46, was selling controlled substances from his residence...

SPOKANE, Wash. – Today United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Erubey Arciga Medrano, age 35, of Michoacan, Mexico, to 180 months in federal prison on drug trafficking charges. Judge Rice also imposed 5 years of supervised release. When he imposed the sentence, Judge Rice noted the large amount...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An Anchorage man was sentenced to 13 years in prison and will serve five years on supervised release for distributing methamphetamine in Alaska and violating his conditions of release from a previous drug distribution conviction. According to court documents, Todd Robert Klink, 55, made two sales of...

BOISE, Idaho – Ricardo Rodriguez, 61, of Ontario, Oregon, was sentenced to 155 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. According to court records, Rodriguez was a member of a drug trafficking organization operating out of eastern Oregon. Rodriguez supplied several of his co-conspirators with methamphetamine for redistribution...

YAKIMA, Wash. – On February 10, 2025, United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke sentenced Santiago Rojas-Rangel (“Charapo”), age 51, of Mexico, to 151 months in prison on methamphetamine distribution charges. Judge Dimke also imposed 5 years of supervised release. When imposing the sentence, Judge Dimke noted Rojas-Rangel’s “complete and...

BOISE, Idaho – Robert Paul Anthony Aragon, 31, of California, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine. According to court records, Aragon was stopped for a traffic violation in Owyhee County. During the stop, a K9 trained in the detection...

TACOMA, Wash. – Two members of drug trafficking organizations linked to Aryan prison gangs were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to twelve- and seven-year prison terms, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Eric Smith,54, of Tacoma, was sentenced to twelve years in prison and Sara Thompson, 39...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment this week charging three Kodiak residents with drug trafficking crimes in Alaska, including distributing fentanyl which resulted in a fatal overdose. According to court documents, between February 2022 and July 2023, Ashley Katelnikoff, 37, and Gerry Pugal, 37...