SPOKANE, Wash. - Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced today that James P. LeBlanc, age 45, of Spokane, Washington was sentenced after pleading guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams of Actual (Pure) Methamphetamine. United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke...

SEATTLE– A top leader of a violent international drug trafficking organization that distributed heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine in the Puget Sound region, was sentenced today U.S. District Court in Seattle to 17 years in prison, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Luis Arturo Magana-Ramirez, 35, of Fife, Washington, was...

BOISE, Idaho – Cosme Palomo, 60, of Boise, was sentenced for federal drug crimes involving methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. On December 4, 2023, Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye sentenced Palomo to 87 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for distribution...

GRANTS PASS, Ore.- Today the DEA Seattle Field Division, along with our partners at the Grants Pass Police Department and Oregon State Police, are announcing the takedown of a drug and firearm trafficking ring in Southern Oregon on Tuesday. The investigation started about 18 months ago and resulted with the...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment last week charging three defendants with crimes connected to the murders of two women in Trapper Creek this May. According to the indictment, Heraclio Sanchez-Rodriguez, 56, Tamara Denise Bren, 41, and Kevin Glenn Peterson II, 29, engaged in...

SEATTLE – A 30-year-old man from Seattle, Washington was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 60 months and one day in prison for drug trafficking and using a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Lavonta Austin pleaded guilty in July of 2023 in U.S. District...

BOISE – U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho Josh Hurwit announced the results of two separate drug trafficking cases in Southern Idaho today involving fentanyl, methamphetamine, and fluorofentanyl. Fluorofentanyl is an analogue of fentanyl. “These cases show the unwavering commitment of my office and our law enforcement partners to...

POCATELLO – Ramon Morales Jr., 41, of Compton, California, was sentenced to 26 years in federal prison for importing and distributing methamphetamine in Eastern Idaho in exchange for firearms. According to court records, Morales was initially arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol when he was caught attempting to smuggle...

RICHLAND, Wash. – United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke sentenced Jose Mendoza-Ruelas, 38, to 150 months in federal prison after his guilty plea to Conspiracy to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Actual (Pure) Methamphetamine, 400 Grams or More of Fentanyl, and 5 Kilograms or More of Cocaine. Mendoza-Ruelas...

SEATTLE, Wash. – A 37-year-old Seattle man was sentenced this week to four years in federal prison and three years of supervised release for Possession of Controlled Substances with Intent to Distribute, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Joseph Johnson was prosecuted federally as part of Seattle’s Operation New Day –...