An Auburn man, 59, was handed an 11-year prison sentence on charges related to his clandestine fentanyl pill manufacturing setup, according to an announcement by Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. The converted garage served as a lab for Johnny Elias's illegal enterprise, revealed following a raid by the DEA at his residence in November 2024, with the discovery of a high-capacity pill press and evidence of substantial drug trafficking activity.
At the sentencing, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart was quoted in a press release, "You were a counselor to at-risk youth and at the same time were engaged in a practice that was killing one to two young people each day... These are not recreational drugs, they are basically – in the case of fentanyl – a murder weapon," he directed at Elias. His operation had been under surveillance from as early as October 2023, with law enforcement uncovering that Elias was using his business, Bodacious Vitamins LLC, as a front for his drug production.
The case documents indicate Elias's purchase of an industrial-grade pill press for over $16,000, using proceeds from his shady dealings to compound and sell fentanyl-laced counterfeit M30 Oxycodone pills, detailed further by Assistant United States Attorney Max Shiner. When the DEA agents raided his home, they found four kilograms of fentanyl powder enough to produce more than 300,000 lethal doses, as well as finished pills containing fentanyl and heroin, scales, and baggies for drug distribution, alongside the loaded firearms and Narcan, an overdose reversal drug, signaling his awareness of the potency and danger of the drugs he was dealing in.
In March, Elias entered a guilty plea for possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture and distribute, unlawful possession of firearms, and money laundering, and in a statement obtained by the Department of Justice, Prosecutor Max Shiner had requested a stiffer 15-year term, arguing Elias' drug activities and firearms possession heightened the severity of his offenses, "Johnny Elias distributed kilogram quantities of fentanyl pills and worked his way up to having a functioning pill press operation in which he could use fentanyl powder and cutting agents to produce thousands of counterfeit M30 Oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl for distribution throughout Western Washington…. The possession of firearms in connection with his drug trafficking greatly increases the severity of the offense. Like his possession of Narcan at his basement drug lab, Elias’ possession of firearms shows his awareness of the dangerousness of his drug dealing."
Following his incarceration, Elias is mandated to undergo four years of supervised release as ordered by Judge Robart. The successful DEA investigation has sidelined a significant threat to the community's health and safety, with hopes that this outcome serves to deter similar illicit activities in the region.
