DEA Archived Press Releases

Press Releases before January 20, 2025
22 Results - Showing 1 to 10
PRESS RELEASE

Spokane Man Sentenced for Involvement in Shooting Death of Idaho Teen

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho--Dennen Trey George Fitterer-Usher, 24, of Spokane Valley, Washington, was sentenced this week to more than 14 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. According to court records, in 2021, Fitterer-Usher met...
PRESS RELEASE

Violent Drug Trafficker and Debt Collector Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison

SEATTLE– A 26-year-old Kent, Washington man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 11 years in prison for his role as a drug trafficker and debt collector for a cartel-connected drug distribution ring, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Jorge Mondragon pleaded guilty in July 2022 to conspiracy...
PRESS RELEASE

Spanaway, Washington Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Key Role in Drug Distribution Ring

Seattle – A 61-year-old Spanaway, Washington man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to eight years in prison for his key role in a large drug distribution ring, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Dwayne Douglas George was indicted in November 2021, along with 16 other defendants. George...
PRESS RELEASE

Joint Operation Targets Drug Distribution Ring in Whatcom, Skagit, and Snohomish Counties

SEATTLE – Six members of a drug distribution conspiracy operating in Whatcom, Skagit and Snohomish counties are charged federally with various drug and firearms crimes. On Wednesday, in searches of eight locations in Whatcom and Snohomish Counties, law enforcement seized: 85,000 fentanyl pills, 2.3 kilograms fentanyl powder, 6.2 kilograms methamphetamine...
PRESS RELEASE

Debt Collector and Drug Distributor for Cartel Connected, Violent, Drug Distribution Ring, Sentenced to 10 years in Prison

Seattle – A 31-year-old Renton, Washington man was sentenced this week in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison for his role in a violent, cartel connected drug distribution ring, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Benjamin Fuentes was indicted in July 2020, along with more than a...
PRESS RELEASE

DEA, FBI, and Seattle Police Seize 2 RVs Packed with Meth and Fentanyl

SEATTLE – Three significant drug trafficking groups responsible for trafficking more than 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine and hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills are facing federal charges tonight. Federal investigators and local law enforcement partners seized two RVs packed with meth and fake pills after they were driven from California...
PRESS RELEASE

Leader of Drug Distribution Organization Sentenced to Ten Years

SEATTLE – The drug supplier to multiple members of a drug trafficking group distributing fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine throughout the Puget Sound region was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Rodrigo Alvarez-Quinonez, 31, of Selma, California, was...
PRESS RELEASE

Idaho Man Sentenced to 138 months Imprisonment for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – Sean Robert Wathen, 50, was sentenced in United States District Court for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill sentenced Wathen to 138 months in prison and ordered him to serve an additional five years of supervised release. According to court records and...
PRESS RELEASE

Tri-Cities Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for Drug Trafficking

SPOKANE, Wash. – Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced today that Aurelio James Gonzalez, 30, of Kennewick Washington was sentenced in federal court in Spokane for two counts of Distribution of Methamphetamine. Chief United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian sentenced Gonzales...
PRESS RELEASE

Idaho Man Sentenced to More Than 11 Years in Prison for Methamphetamine Distribution

POCATELLO, Idaho – Melvin Misael Alcaraz-Valdez, of Declo, Idaho, was sentenced to federal prison for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit, today. Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye sentenced Alcaraz-Valdez to 135 months. 11 years, 3 months. Alcaraz-Valdez, upon completion of his time...