A 69-year-old man who once called Rhode Island, Texas and Chicago home is headed to federal prison for 15 years after jurors convicted him in April for a 2021 plot to move hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine and fentanyl across the Strait of Juan de Fuca using a jet ski and an inflatable raft. John Michael Sherwood was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute, and conspiracy to commit international money laundering after a six-day trial.
How the Plan Unraveled
The case kicked off in April 2021 when a family camping on the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula stumbled on a partially submerged duffel bag that turned out to be stuffed with roughly 50 pounds of methamphetamine and two pounds of fentanyl. A few days later, beachgoers found seven more duffel bags tucked under a Highway 112 bridge, pushing the total haul to about 400 pounds. Investigators traced the bags to Walmart purchases made with a debit card linked to Sherwood. Surveillance footage, U-Haul rental and storage records, and cell-phone data then tied him to the Port Angeles area and the jet ski operation, according to the jet ski smuggling probe.
Sentence and Legal Notes
U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones handed down the 15-year sentence and told Sherwood, "What you did came across as a mad man desperate for money, willing to do anything," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Washington. Prosecutors said Sherwood had moved about 300 pounds of methamphetamine and close to a kilogram of fentanyl from southern California to the Olympic Peninsula, then tried to shift the load across the strait to a contact on Vancouver Island. The convictions for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute, and conspiracy to commit international money laundering involved drug quantities that triggered a statutory mandatory minimum sentence, officials said.
Law Enforcement Response
W. Mike Herrington, special agent in charge of FBI Seattle, said the episode showed how brazen the plan was and added, "The FBI and our partners are committed to holding subjects accountable," according to FBI Seattle. The investigation ran through a multiagency Homeland Security Task Force that included Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Border Patrol, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and local law enforcement partners.
Case History and Next Steps
The conviction came after a retrial, which followed the case team’s disclosure of alleged misconduct by a government witness in the first trial. Prosecutors described the smuggling effort as part of long-running interstate criminal activity stretching back decades. Co-defendant Erika Bocelle has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing, and Canadian national Kevin Gartry, identified as an alleged overseas contact, remains the subject of extradition efforts, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
