Breeannyn Pederson Sentenced in Treasure Valley Drug Ring

BOISE — The feds have closed the books on another player in the sprawling Treasure Valley drug conspiracy, as Breeannyn Nicole Pederson, 26, of Parma, Idaho, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. The sentence, handed down today, marks the seventh conviction tied to the violent, multi-drug operation that flooded southwest Idaho with prescription pills, methamphetamine, heroin, and synthetic drugs. Following her prison term, Pederson will face three years of supervised release.

Pederson pleaded guilty on June 2, 2016, after being indicted December 8, 2015, in a superseding indictment that laid bare the scale of the operation. She acted under the direction of ringleader Stacy Duane Wilfong, who was sentenced earlier this year to over 18 years in federal prison for orchestrating the distribution network. Wilfong’s enterprise wasn’t picky — it pushed prescription opioids, meth, heroin, and the dangerous synthetic stimulant Alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone, better known on the street as ‘bath salts’ or ‘a-PVP.’

The ring’s reach extended across the Treasure Valley, with dealers moving drugs out of Nampa, Boise, and Caldwell. Five co-conspirators have already been locked up: Anthony “Tony” Kitchen, 48, of Nampa, serving 71 months; Jocelin Jessica Gonzalez, 19, also of Nampa, sentenced to 40 months; Elizabeth Ann Gaytan, 37, handed 100 months; Isela Garza, 30, sentenced to 48 months; and Regina Wade, 50, of Boise, serving 41 months behind bars.

More sentences are coming. David Anthony Wales, 31, of Boise, is set for sentencing on February 22, 2017. Adam William Dillon, 28, of Nampa, and Jason Lee Burgess are both scheduled to change their pleas in November 2016. One holdout, John Matthew Caviness, Jr., 34, of Caldwell, is preparing to go to trial, the last remaining defendant to face a jury in the case.

The takedown was the result of a relentless joint investigation by the Treasure Valley Metro Violent Crime Task Force and the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The task force combines federal, state, and local muscle — including the FBI, ATF, DEA, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, IRS-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Marshals, and multiple Idaho law enforcement agencies — to dismantle entrenched drug networks.

Prosecution was handled by a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired through the Treasure Valley Partnership — a coalition of elected officials focused on regional coordination to combat organized crime and gang activity. As the bodies pile up from overdose deaths linked to synthetic opioids and meth, this case underscores how deeply drug cartels have rooted themselves in Idaho’s backyard — and how hard law enforcement is coming down on them.

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