A Mexican national has copped to running a drug ring out of a fortified homeless encampment in Washington state, U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman said. Rigoberto Vasquez-Martinez, 32, entered a guilty plea on drug trafficking and firearms charges after his August 29 arrest last year when cops stopped him with over 65,000 fentanyl pills in Oregon.
The so-called "Walmart encampment," a half-mile stretch east of Walmart in Bellingham, was where Vasquez-Martinez erected his criminal stronghold, complete with armed guards to protect his stash the encampment garnered attention from law enforcement due to the frequency of incidents, and tips surfaced about Vasquez-Martinez's role as a major drug supplier for the area. During the traffic stop that led to his capture, authorities found Vasquez-Martinez had more than seven kilos of fentanyl pills, $3,000 in cash, and several cell phones, it was then that law enforcement suspected him of returning from California with fresh supplies for the Washington drug market.
Following up on the arrest, law enforcement officers raided a storage unit in Lynnwood tied to Vasquez-Martinez's wife, uncovering additional drugs including three kilos of fentanyl powder, 300 grams of methamphetamine, nearly two kilos of heroin, a handgun, and $46,000 in cash, according to a statement from the Justice Department. Vasquez-Martinez has since admitted that the 9mm handgun found was used to advance his drug trafficking operation.
Two days post his arrest, Vasquez-Martinez's compound was the next target for officers; this raid netted more than $4,000 in cash, an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, and a sawed-off shotgun court documents revealed the possession of these firearms and the significant quantity of drugs have put Vasquez-Martinez on the hook for a mandatory minimum ten-year prison sentence. Both drug possession with intent to deliver and the attempted distribution are punishable by a minimum of five years and up to 40 years in prison, in addition, the arms charges carry a mandatory consecutive minimum five-year sentence.
The sentencing, set for June 11, could see Vasquez-Martinez behind bars for the recommended decade, although U.S. District Judge Evanson has the authority to impose any sentence permissible by law, the case investigation was led by the DEA, with Assistant United States Attorney Amanda McDowell leading the prosecution, assisted by Oregon Assistant United States Attorney Peter Sax.
