A couple from King County could be facing a serious stretch behind bars following their indictment on charges of possessing with intent to distribute a vast quantity of fentanyl and unlawfully keeping an arsenal that included a machinegun, local officials said. The U.S. Attorney's Office announced the indictment of Braiden F. Wilson, 28, and his partner, 30-year-old Chandler B. Bennett, detailing the hoard of illegal weaponry and drugs uncovered in their RV.
The couple's woes began following a shooting on May 12, when King County Sheriff’s deputies arrived and tried to review surveillance footage from the couple's RV to catch the shooter. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Bennett's refusal to cooperate led law enforcement to snag a search warrant for the suspicious vehicle. Inside, the search turned up more than two and a half kilograms of deadly fentanyl pills, alongside a stockpile that included 17 firearms, body armor, silencers, and technology to create untraceable guns using 3D printers.
The discovery did not end there, law enforcement officials found the RV to be a treasure trove of illicit hardware. They uncovered devices capable of destruction, as well as instructional material on how to manufacture explosives and modify firearms to fully automatic functionality. If convicted, Wilson and Bennett face a mandatory minimum of ten years for the fentanyl charges alone, with the potential for a life sentence hanging over their heads. The machinegun possession could tack on an additional 15 years each.
The collaborative investigation that brought the couple to justice was a combined effort by federal and local law units including HSI, ATF, FBI, DEA, and the Washington State Patrol. According to U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman, as stated in a Justice Department release, the seizure represented a significant triumph in the continuous struggle to curb the illegal drug flow and gun violence. However, as the charges are merely allegations, the justice system upholds that Wilson and Bennett are presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty in court.
