Sean Michael Moinette, a Spanaway man aged 46, has been handed a 12-year prison sentence for his involvement in a drug distribution network that peddled fentanyl and methamphetamine throughout the Puget Sound region, an announcement from U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman confirmed. Having been held in custody since his March 2023 arrest, when over two dozen of his confederates, some linked to Aryan supremacist gangs, were detained, Moinette received his punishment from Chief U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo in Tacoma federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
With records indicating Moinette's role at the mid-level management in a drug cell associated with the Aryan Family and Omerta prison gangs, his actions came to light through a wiretap investigation during the summer of 2022. He was found purchasing significant quantities of narcotics, including methamphetamine, fentanyl powder, and fentanyl-laced pills, on a weekly basis. He continued his distribution even after being made aware that the drugs were causing overdoses, with users "dropping like flies," as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office. During sentencing, Judge Estudillo highlighted the gravity of discussions involving the use of women as mules and scheming to transport drugs via air travel to Alaska, expressing difficulty in believing these were merely discussions and not actions planned with intent.
This expansive operation, which resulted in such heavy sentences, is part of a larger Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) project. The project aims to identify and dismantle high-level drug traffickers and criminal syndicates that pose a threat to the U.S., employing a multi-agency approach that leverages the capabilities of federal, state, and local law enforcement. The FBI-led investigation saw significant contributions from agencies like the DEA, HSI, the Washington State Department of Corrections, the Tacoma Police Department, the Pierce County Sheriff's Office, and the Thurston County Narcotics Task Force, among others. It culminated in the seizure of a staggering array of firearms, drugs, and cash on March 22, 2023, during which Moinette and others were arrested.
On the day of reckoning, more than 350 officers across ten SWAT teams coordinated to dismantle the drug ring, apprehending members and collecting 177 firearms, methamphetamine, fentanyl pills, heroin, and large sums of cash from several locations. This raid is an addition to previous law enforcements efforts that had already confiscated sizeable amounts of drugs, currency, and weapons over the course of their two-year inquiry. Moinette, who is just one among several defendants sentenced in this case, saw others facing prison terms ranging from just over a year to 13 years, while the so-called kingpin, Jesse James Bailey awaits his sentencing on February 28, as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
