PORTLAND, Ore.—A Honduran national under federal indictment for conspiring with others to distribute fentanyl was extradited from Honduras to the United States this week to face charges in the District of Oregon. Orbin Alfredo Velasquez Layaire, 38, has been charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. According to...

SEATTLE, Wash. – The final defendant of 41 arrested in an extensive drug trafficking investigation, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and unlawfully possessing a firearm. Kendle Rashen Hawkins, 34, of Goodyear, Arizona, will be sentenced by U.S. District...

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho--Scott Higgins, 57, of Coeur d’Alene, was sentenced yesterday on charges for theft from a program receiving federal funds and acquiring controlled substances by fraud, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. Both charges relate to a drug diversion scheme that Higgins carried out over multiple years while employed...

TACOMA, Wash. – A 25-year-old Puyallup man, who also maintained an apartment in Seattle, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 78 months in prison for drug trafficking and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Emmanuel Xaiver...

BOISE – Brandon Aaron Dana, 36, a co-conspirator in a large drug trafficking conspiracy, was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison for distributing over 7,000 fentanyl pills in Idaho's Magic Valley. According to court records, in the summer of 2023, law enforcement officers identified Dana while investigating a...

POCATELLO, Idaho – Robin Dwain Dunn, 69, of Rigby, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine. Court records indicate that from June 2022 to February 2023, Dunn—an attorney practicing in Eastern Idaho who previously served as the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney—agreed with clients and others...

FORT WAYNE, 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 Tywan Church, 43, of Fort Wayne, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Holly A. Brady after pleading...

SEATTLE, Wash. – A Bellingham, Washington woman who was a redistributor for a fentanyl distribution ring was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Natasha Parkhill, 38, of Bellingham pleaded guilty in March 2024 and was sentenced today to 4 years in prison. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Todd Smith, Assistant Special Agent in Charge at U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Chicago Field Division, and U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Harris for the Central District of Illinois announced that Christopher Wallace, 32, from Springfield, was sentenced to 120 months in prison, to be followed by three years...

SEATTLE, Wash. –The first of six defendants tied to a significant drug trafficking ring that used recreational vehicles to transport massive quantities of methamphetamine, fentanyl pills, cocaine and heroin was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 102 months in prison. Ernesto Casillas, 48, has been in custody...