May 17, 2023, U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Jerami W. Jones, 43, of Spokane, Washington, to 235 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl and for the illegal possession of multiple firearms. District Judge Rice also ordered Jones to serve five years on federal supervision after he is released from prison.
According to court documents, law enforcement officers assigned to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Spokane Regional Safe Streets Task Force obtained a search warrant to search property connected with Jones. At the time of the search, Jones was serving a term of community custody in Washington state court. Around this time, Jones’s supervising probation officer made arrangements to meet with Jones. Upon Jones’s arrival, members of the Safe Streets Task Force detained Jones and conducted a search of his person and vehicle. While searching Jones’s vehicle, the law enforcement team located approximately 2,200 fentanyl-laced pills and four ounces of heroin.
At the same time as the search of Jones’s person, other law enforcement officers executed a search warrant of Jones’s residence and separate trailer. There, law enforcement located approximately two pounds of methamphetamine, 7,000 fentanyl pills, and eight firearms. Three of the firearms had previously been reported as stolen. Law enforcement officers also recovered more than $21,000 in U.S. currency.
United States Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref, the chief law enforcement officer for the Eastern District of Washington, stated, “Today’s significant sentence demonstrates the breadth and seriousness of Mr. Jones’s drug trafficking activities. I’m grateful for our incredible law enforcement team, who devote their lives to protecting our community. I commend our Safe Streets Task Force whose work combatting organized crime and removing illegal drugs and stolen firearms strengthens our communities.”
“Traffickers like Mr. Jones bring drugs into our towns and cities with no regard to the damage they do to the citizens who live there.” said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “These are the same citizens the FBI and our partners are sworn to protect. Mr. Jones’s nearly twenty-year sentence demonstrates the serious consequences of distributing these poisons into our communities and the repercussions of his continued criminal activity while serving on state probation.”
This case was prosecuted under the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program. PSN is a federal, state, and local law enforcement collaboration to identify, investigate, and prosecute individuals responsible for violent crimes in our neighborhoods. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement to specifically identify the criminals responsible for violent crime in the Eastern District of Washington and pursue criminal prosecution.
This case was investigated by the FBI Spokane Regional Safe Streets Task Force and the Spokane Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Patrick J. Cashman and Stephanie Van Marter, Assistant United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Washington.