ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Michael Joseph Nicholson, 36, of Los Angeles, California, was sentenced on Oct. 8, 2019, by U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess, to 10 years in prison, to be followed by a 5-year term of supervised release, for his role in a drug and money laundering conspiracy that...

EL PASO, Texas – Agents and investigators from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigation Division conducted multiple independent investigations over the last year focused on identifying and targeting criminal organizations and individuals suspected of prescription drug fraud or manufacture or delivery of a controlled...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Twelve individuals are facing federal drug trafficking and firearms charges as the result of a two-year DEA-led multi-agency investigation into a major New Mexico-based poly-drug trafficking organization allegedly operating between Las Vegas, N.M., and Albuquerque, N.M., under the alleged leadership of Robert Padilla, 42, of Albuquerque. The...

SPOKANE, Wash. - Justin Mark Mullenix, age 35, of Spokane, Washington, was sentenced on Aug. 2, 2019, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Chief United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Mullenix to a 17 years in prison, to be followed by...

PORTLAND, Ore.—Rodrigo Caro-Gonzalez, 35, a noted drug trafficker residing in Eagle Point, Oregon, was sentenced on Aug.1, 2019, to 120 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and illegally possessing a firearm. According to court documents, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration began...

PORTLAND, Ore. - Yesterday, a third Portland-area man was sentenced to federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to traffic large quantities of methamphetamine into the Portland Metropolitan Area. Ulises Mayares Jr., 26, of Portland, was sentenced on July 29, 2019, to 48 months in prison and five years’...

SEATTLE – A 38-year-old Seattle man who persisted in trafficking methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine, despite repeated run-ins with law enforcement, was sentenced on July 26, 2019, in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 11 years in prison and five years of supervised release. Michael Lavon Davis pleaded guilty to conspiracy...

SPOKANE, Wash. – Jose Luis Muniz, age 38, of Pasco, Washington, was sentenced on July 23, 2019, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and five kilograms of cocaine. Senior United States District Judge Wm...

SPOKANE, Wash. – Dr. James Stein-Sheridan Shelby, 50, of Spokane, Wash., and Timothy James Felch, 36, also of Spokane, Wash., were sentenced on July 22, 2019, after having pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute opioid pain medications, hydrocodone and tramadol, without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course...

SPOKANE, Wash. – Early this morning, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Border Patrol led a large-scale enforcement action targeting a methamphetamine and heroin drug trafficking organization with ties to a Washington State-based street gang identified as the Eastside...