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...

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...

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...

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...

PORTLAND, Ore.—The manager of an Oregon-based drug trafficking cell with ties to a large Mexico-based drug trafficking organization was sentenced to federal prison today following an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Horacio Luna-Perez, 42, of Hillsboro, Oregon, was sentenced to 97 months in federal prison and five...

Seattle – A 37-year-old former Kent, Washington, resident was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release for selling narcotics near a drug treatment center. Mohamed Aweys Muse has been in custody since his arrest in March 2023. At...

SPOKANE, Wash. - Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced today that Juan Pablo Carrillo-Nava, 46, was sentenced on one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Actual (Pure) Methamphetamine. Chief United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian imposed...

SEATTLE, Wash. – A 56-year-old Seattle man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 5 years in prison for dealing drugs in downtown Seattle while armed with a handgun, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Cuong Quoc Cao, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance...

SPOKANE, Wash. - Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced today that Alexander Kosnicki, 46 of Spokane Valley, Washington, was sentenced on one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm and one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl. Kosnicki was convicted...