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...

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...

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...

SPOKANE, Wash. - Ray Anthony Wynecoop pleaded guilty on June 26, 2024, to one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute 40 Grams or More of Fentanyl, one count of Discharge of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug...

EUGENE, Oregon—A Bend, Oregon man was sentenced to federal prison for possessing 20 pounds of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. Isaac Kitashima, 48, was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release. According to court documents, from August 2020 through June 2021, Kitashima and co-conspirators...

Spokane, Washington- Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced today that three men are facing federal drug charges. Osvaldo Guadalupe Soto-Orduno, Jose Roman Lizarraga Gerardo, and Jose Efrain Gonzalez Rodriguez were charged by criminal complaint with Conspiracy to Distribute 400 Grams or More...

Tacoma – A former attorney from Mexico was sentenced June 21, 2024, to 90 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Gustavo Castellanos-Tapia, 38, of Burien, Washington, was a significant supplier of methamphetamine to a drug trafficking organization with ties to the...