A Spokane man who turned local hotel rooms into hubs of drugs, guns and exploitation has been ordered to spend 30 years in federal prison. On March 18, 2026, a federal judge sentenced 55-year-old James Anthony Stinson after a jury convicted him on 11 felony counts, including sex trafficking, drug trafficking and unlawful possession of firearms. Prosecutors say the case capped a multi-agency investigation that uncovered a pattern of coercion, violence and large-scale drug distribution centered in Spokane Valley hotels.
Evidence from hotel rooms and phones
The investigation traces back to 2021, when controlled buys of crack cocaine led law enforcement to Stinson’s hotel rooms. A search of those rooms turned up distribution quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine and fentanyl pills, along with multiple firearms Stinson was not allowed to possess.
According to prosecutors, the most disturbing evidence was not just the drugs and guns but what was found on Stinson’s phones. Videos and messages recovered from the devices showed him threatening and violently assaulting a commercial sex worker and using force and coercion to push victims into sex work. Those details, along with the federal case number (2:23-cr-162-TOR) and the names of the trial prosecutors, are laid out in a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington.
Sentence, restitution and supervision
In addition to the 30-year prison term, the court ordered Stinson to serve 10 years of supervised release after he is released and to pay about $28,000 in restitution to victims. The sentencing and those financial and supervision terms were reported March 19 by The Spokesman-Review.
FBI task force credited with bringing case to light
Federal officials credited the FBI Spokane Child Exploitation/Human Trafficking Task Force, along with the Spokane Police Department and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, for driving the multi-jurisdiction investigation. “As this investigation into Mr. Stinson progressed, it revealed even more crimes, all of them harmful to the public,” Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington said in the statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Why it surfaced again
The case resurfaced publicly weeks after sentencing when the FBI Seattle boosted it on social media. On April 8, the office shared the U.S. Attorney’s announcement and a summary of the investigation in a post on X. That post from FBI Seattle on X highlighted the 30-year sentence and again underscored the role of the regional task force.
Background and takeaways
Court records referenced during the prosecution note that Stinson had prior convictions for delivery of cocaine and for unlawful firearm possession as a drug user, and that he was already on federal supervised release when he was arrested in 2021. Both local coverage and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have framed the verdict and lengthy sentence as part of a broader push to target trafficking networks that blend drugs, guns and human exploitation in Eastern Washington.
