Seattle – The leader of a violent, prolific drug trafficking ring was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 15 years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Cesar Valdez-Sanudo, 36, pleaded guilty in June 2022 to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit money laundering and...

Tacoma – A Bremerton, Washington couple was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to lengthy prison terms for possession of narcotics with intent to distribute, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. David Berryhill, 46, was sentenced to 90 months in prison and his fiancé Jamie Kelly, 50, was sentenced to...

Yakima, Washington – On January 24, 2023, United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke sentenced Alexis Sanchez-Gomez, 21, of Moxee, Washington, to 12 years in federal prison after his guilty plea to Possession of Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug-Trafficking crime. Sanchez-Gomez, a documented member of the Lower Valley Locos...

POCATELLO – Adam Lee Vallely, 46, of Blackfoot, was sentenced to life in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession with the intent to distribute heroin, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced. According to court records and evidence presented at trial...

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Honduran man residing in Portland is facing federal charges after he was arrested moving two kilograms of rainbow-colored fentanyl and several firearms between two Portland-area motels. Jose Isidro Zuniga Torres, 47, has been charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to possess and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl...

PORTLAND, Ore.—An Arizona woman is facing federal charges after she was caught trafficking approximately 45,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl and several additional pounds of bulk heroin on Interstate 5 near Salem, Oregon. Nancy Garcia, 47, of Yuma County, Arizona, has been charged by criminal complaint with possessing with intent...

SEATTLE – A Renton, Washington resident who continued to deal drugs and possess firearms after many of his coconspirators were arrested and charged federally, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison. Gerson Alberto Flores-Rivera, 28, pleaded guilty in May 2022 to distribution of...

ANCHORAGE– The Drug Enforcement Administration is participating in an advertising campaign launched by the Alaska High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) initiative. The Save a Life campaign is designed to help communities partner with law enforcement in the fight against drug trafficking and to help prevent drug overdoses in Alaska...

SEATTLE – A 50-year-old Washington State man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to seven years in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl pills, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Preston Joseph Smith was arrested in December 2021 in Port Angeles, Washington on allegations he...

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...