2 Tri-Citians indicted as part of white supremacist drug trafficking ring

Annette Cary, Jared Brown
·3 min read
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Two Burbank residents were among 24 people, many of them tied to a white supremacist prison gang, arrested as part of an alleged trafficking ring that sold huge amounts of drugs, according to federal officials.

More than 1.9 million doses of fentanyl and more than 230 pounds of methamphetamine were seized over the last year.

Dana Hanson, 57, and Justin Hanson, 48, of Burbank, are in custody, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington said Monday.

They were each indicted on conspiracy to distribute meth, fentanyl and heroin, according to a court document.

The alleged leader of the drug trafficking organization was Jesse James Bailey, 39, of Steilacoom, Wash., an influential member of the Aryan Family prison gang, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

He and others also allegedly have ties to the Sinaloa Cartel that they established while in prison.

Bailey is accused of trafficking drugs, not only in Washington, but also in Idaho and Alaska.

The 24 suspects arrested last week included people in Washington and Arizona, some of them already in prison or jail. Three people indicted by a grand jury for drug trafficking as part of the same investigation are still at large.

Tacoma Police Chief Avery Moore speaks at a Monday press conference in Tacoma about the investigation into a drug trafficking conspiracy that led to the indictments of 27 people, two of them from Burbank, Wash.
Tacoma Police Chief Avery Moore speaks at a Monday press conference in Tacoma about the investigation into a drug trafficking conspiracy that led to the indictments of 27 people, two of them from Burbank, Wash.

Before last week, 48 guns had been seized in the case, said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.

Then on Wednesday 10 SWAT teams and more than 350 law enforcement officers coordinated efforts at 18 locations in Washington and Arizona.

They seized an additional 177 firearms, plus more than 22 pounds of meth, 24 pounds of fentanyl pills, more than two pounds of fentanyl powder, more than six pounds of heroin and more than $330,000 in cash.

In the year before last week’s takedown, law enforcement seized 830,000 fentanyl pills, 5.5 pounds of fentanyl powder, 223 pounds of meth, 3.5 pounds of heroin, 5 pounds of cocaine and $388,000 in cash.

“The sheer amount of narcotics seized in this investigation is shocking,” said Jacob Galvan, acting special agent in charge for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Seattle.

The fentanyl seized had enough lethal doses to kill everyone who lives in Tacoma and Seattle, with enough lethal doses left to poison another 500,000, he said.

Packages of fentanyl that could kill the combined populations of Seattle and Tacoma, plus 500,000 more people, and 177 firearms were seized during an investigation into an international drug trafficking conspiracy.
Packages of fentanyl that could kill the combined populations of Seattle and Tacoma, plus 500,000 more people, and 177 firearms were seized during an investigation into an international drug trafficking conspiracy.

“The level of danger is high when you have people connected to the Aryan prison gangs spreading drugs and using guns in our community,” Brown said.

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents led the investigation involving wiretaps, confidential informants and numerous drug and firearm seizures, according to Brown.

The DEA, Homeland Security Investigations and Washington state Department of Corrections also partnered on the case, in addition to other state and local law enforcement.

Defendants in custody in addition to those from Burbank and Jesse James Bailey are: Candice Bailey, 41, Steilacoom; Thomas Carver, 59, Auburn; Bryson Gill, 30, Buckeye, Arizona; Yehoshua Kilp, 37, incarcerated in Washington; Gustavo Castellanos-Tapia, 34, Burien; Ronald McComb, 58, Ridgefield, Keagen Larsen, 28, incarcerated in King County; Sean Moinette, 54, Spanaway; Michael Warren, 63, Shelton; Michael Slocumb, 44, Concho, Arizona; Isaac Cervantes, 24, Phoenix; Sara Thompson, 37, Bonney Lake; Shawn Ellis, 31, Renton; Eric Smith, 52, incarcerated in Washington; Joseph Hempel, 45, Burien; Daniel Hammond, 41, Puyallup; Philip Boorkman, 40, Seattle; C’La Morales, 36, Pierce County; Ronnie Griffin, 64, Tacoma; Anna Sarnes, 37, Quilcene; and Anthony Escoto, 51, Tukwila.

Still being sought by law enforcement are Gregory Beers, 30, of Edgewood; Stepahnie Yepez, 42, and William Tripp, 34.