Repeat Offender Sentenced to Prison for Methamphetamine Dealing
A one-time Crips gang member with a 30-year history of crime was sentenced to 70 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran. ANTHONY COLBERT, 49, of Seattle pleaded guilty in September 2018, following his arrest as part of Operation East Watch. The law enforcement initiative, led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), focused on drug dealing and gang violence in Kent’s East Hill neighborhood.
COLBERT was fresh from a federal prison sentence for drug dealing when he was identified as a key drug conspirator at the Highland Green apartments. He tried to hide behind others as he distributed drugs in the community. At the sentencing hearing Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez said COLBERT had “an extensive criminal history with very serious offenses – made even worse by the fact that when he committed these crimes he had just gotten off of supervised release.”
“This defendant has already served a total of 25 years in prison for state and federal offenses and now is adding to that unenviable record,” said U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran. “The East Watch initiative targeted offenders causing crime and violence in an area that saw 29 shootings in 2018. By taking these habitual offenders out of our communities we hope to make our neighborhoods safer for all of us.”
COLBERT has a long history of crime dating back to the 1980s for drug and gun crimes. In 1991, he was sentenced to 65 months in prison for firing shots in a Seattle neighborhood in a turf dispute with another gang. In 1995, within a year of his release from prison, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for robbery. In 2006, while still on state supervision, he illegally possessed a firearm and was sentenced to an additional 70 months in prison.
COLBERT was sentenced to 70 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. He was arrested in 2018 as part of Operation East Watch, a law enforcement initiative focused on drug dealing and gang violence in Kent’s East Hill neighborhood. The operation targeted habitual offenders causing crime and violence in the area, which saw 29 shootings in 2018.
All eight defendants in Operation East Watch have pleaded guilty. COLBERT is the latest defendant to be sentenced, following the sentencing of six other defendants. Mario Parra-Cetino, 28, of Kent, was sentenced to 66 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute heroin and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Anthony Ripley, 46, of Tacoma, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for drug and gun possession crimes.
Devon Parramore, 50, of Kent, was sentenced to 33 months in prison for distribution of methamphetamine. Allen Betts III, 40, of Kent, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and unlawful possession of a firearm and was sentenced to four years in prison. Neal Stringer, 46, of Kent and Des Moines, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is scheduled for sentencing in April 2019. Kenyon Taylor, 39, of Federal Way, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 48 months in prison.
Anthony Colbert, a 49-year-old man from Seattle, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. He was arrested in 2018 as part of Operation East Watch, a law enforcement initiative focused on drug dealing and gang violence in Kent’s East Hill neighborhood.
COLBERT has a long history of crime dating back to the 1980s for drug and gun crimes. He has been sentenced to prison multiple times, including a 25-year total prison sentence for state and federal offenses.
The operation targeted habitual offenders causing crime and violence in the area, which saw 29 shootings in 2018. By taking these habitual offenders out of our communities, law enforcement hopes to make our neighborhoods safer for all of us.
COLBERT was identified as the source of supply of methamphetamine for co-defendant Allen Betts III, who distributed the drugs out of his Highland Green apartment complex. Law enforcement observed COLBERT bring the drugs to Betts on multiple occasions, before Betts sold the drugs to an undercover agent and a person working with law enforcement.
Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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