Moses Lake man sentenced for drug, weapons charges

Staff Report, Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, Wash.
·1 min read

Oct. 20—SPOKANE — A Moses Lake man was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing methamphetamine with intent to sell.

Guillermo Valdez, 34, was sentenced Tuesday, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Washington. On April 20 he pled guilty to two counts of possession of more than 500 grams of methamphetamines with intent to sell and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The press release said Valdez participated in a burglary in Spokane in February 2021 in which 11 firearms were stolen. With a co-defendant, Valdez trafficked in the stolen firearms, including one connected with the death of a child in Othello later that same month, the press release said.

In April 2021 Valdez was arrested after a chase where he tried to escape from Washington State Patrol troopers; during the chase, he was observed throwing a bag out the window. The bag was found to contain a pistol and 822 grams of meth, the USAO press release said.

Valdez crashed the car through a fence and was detained after he was discovered hiding in a tree.

He was arrested in July 2021 at his home in Moses Lake and his residence was searched. Law enforcement officers found 604 grams of meth in the house, the press release said.

The Moses Lake and Othello police departments, the Grant County and Spokane County sheriff's offices and the WSP worked with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the U.S. Marshal's Service in the investigation, the press release said.