Tacoma, Wash. – The leader of a South Puget Sound drug trafficking organization that sent dangerous drugs as far away as Georgia and Ohio was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to ten years in prison for his multi-state drug trafficking scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman...

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...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Alfred Cooke, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson for the Northern District of Indiana announced that Juan Aquino, 53, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading...

SEATTLE – Five Seattle-area men are in custody following a grand jury indictment for their drug trafficking activity in Seattle’s homeless encampments and International District, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. The men are charged federally and have made their initial appearances over the last few days. “We are all...

BOISE, Idaho – Jerilyn Martel Hupp, 33, of Boise, pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl in a case involving a fatality, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. Hupp sold ten fentanyl pills to a man she met online, who subsequently died after ingesting half of a pill containing illicit fentanyl...

SEATTLE- This holiday season, full of travel and family gatherings, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Seattle Division is urging communities across the Pacific Northwest to make the most of this time together by having conversations about the dangers of fentanyl. Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our nation has ever...

Tacoma – A 61-year-old Auburn, Washington, man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to twelve years in prison for his leadership role in a multi-state drug distribution ring announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Thomas Carver has a lengthy criminal history that includes multiple prior convictions related...

BOISE – Efren Alexander Aviles-Pacheco, 29, of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, illegally living in Ontario, Oregon, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. Senior U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill also sentenced Aviles-Pacheco to serve 10...

Tacoma – A 66-year-old Tacoma man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 75 months in prison for his leadership role in a drug distribution ring tied to the white supremacist Aryan Family prison gang, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Ronnie Griffin is the stepfather of...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Alfred A. Cooke III, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson for the Northern District of Indiana announced that Jarin Devon Noojin, 26, of Mishawaka, Indiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Cristal C. Brisco...