YAKIMA, Wash. – On February 10, 2025, United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke sentenced Santiago Rojas-Rangel (“Charapo”), age 51, of Mexico, to 151 months in prison on methamphetamine distribution charges. Judge Dimke also imposed 5 years of supervised release. When imposing the sentence, Judge Dimke noted Rojas-Rangel’s “complete and...

JUNEAU, Alaska – A federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment last month charging a Washington man with distributing and conspiring to distribute controlled substances that resulted in the fatal overdoses of two people in Skagway in 2023. According to court documents, from Jan. 1 to Jan. 13, 2023...

BOISE, Idaho – Robert Paul Anthony Aragon, 31, of California, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine. According to court records, Aragon was stopped for a traffic violation in Owyhee County. During the stop, a K9 trained in the detection...

TACOMA, Wash. – Two members of drug trafficking organizations linked to Aryan prison gangs were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to twelve- and seven-year prison terms, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Eric Smith,54, of Tacoma, was sentenced to twelve years in prison and Sara Thompson, 39...

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – Ayana R. Bacon, 25, of Box Elder, Montana, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. According to court records, Bacon was a passenger in a car which was stopped in Shoshone County, Idaho on September 22...

Tacoma, Wash. – The leader of a South Puget Sound drug trafficking organization that sent dangerous drugs as far away as Georgia and Ohio was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to ten years in prison for his multi-state drug trafficking scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment this week charging three Kodiak residents with drug trafficking crimes in Alaska, including distributing fentanyl which resulted in a fatal overdose. According to court documents, between February 2022 and July 2023, Ashley Katelnikoff, 37, and Gerry Pugal, 37...

SEATTLE – Five Seattle-area men are in custody following a grand jury indictment for their drug trafficking activity in Seattle’s homeless encampments and International District, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. The men are charged federally and have made their initial appearances over the last few days. “We are all...

BOISE, Idaho – Jerilyn Martel Hupp, 33, of Boise, pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl in a case involving a fatality, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. Hupp sold ten fentanyl pills to a man she met online, who subsequently died after ingesting half of a pill containing illicit fentanyl...

SEATTLE- This holiday season, full of travel and family gatherings, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Seattle Division is urging communities across the Pacific Northwest to make the most of this time together by having conversations about the dangers of fentanyl. Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our nation has ever...