SEATTLE– A 46-year-old Pierce County man was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court in Seattle to seven years in prison for his repeated drug trafficking and firearms possession. Ryan James Townsend was indicted in November 2023, after two encounters with law enforcement. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge...

BOISE, Idaho – Nathaniel Erik Walsh, 29, of Middleton, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for distributing fentanyl that resulted in the death of an individual. According to court records, Walsh distributed six fentanyl pills to an individual on April 29, 2023. Walsh drove from Caldwell to Boise...

EL PASO, Texas – A Mexican national was sentenced in federal court to 300 months in prison for one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, 180 months for one count of straw purchasing firearms and trafficking in firearms, and 60 months for one count of conspiracy...

TACOMA, Wash. – The leader of a methamphetamine trafficking ring was sentenced Friday August 30, 2024, in U.S. District Court for federal felonies related to his drug trafficking. Jesus Venegas-Gatica, 37, of Lakewood, Washington was sentenced to 97 months. At the sentencing hearing Chief U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The leader of an extensive transnational drug trafficking organization was sentenced to 28 years in prison for running a conspiracy that trafficked vast amounts of dangerous drugs to Alaska. According to court documents, Miguel Baez Guevara, a.k.a. “Javi,” 41, a U.S. citizen who was living in Mexico...

ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque man was sentenced to 248 months in prison for drug trafficking and firearms offenses after being found in possession of over 500 grams of methamphetamine and two firearms in a stolen vehicle. There is no parole in the federal system. According to court documents and evidence...

EL PASO, Texas – Twenty-one individuals suspected of being affiliated with the Chuco Tango street gang were arrested Thursday in and around El Paso on criminal charges related to their alleged involvement in trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, and/or the unlawful possession of firearms. The following defendants were indicted...

LONDONDERRY, NH –The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was joined today by U.S. Attorney for the District of New Hampshire, Jane Young, representatives from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), New England HIDTA, the New Hampshire Department of Safety, the Town of Londonderry, and members of the New Hampshire federal congressional...

Washington, DC – As schools in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia open their doors to students and teachers this month, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Washington Division is urging the community to have important conversations about the consequences of drug experimentation and misuse as the new school year...

EL PASO, Texas – A Mexican national was sentenced in El Paso to 245 months in prison for two counts related to her role in a drug trafficking conspiracy. According to court documents, Karla Adriana Votta-Cardenas aka “Adriana,” aka “Samantha,” aka “Sophia,” 43, of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, worked for...