Curtis Van Putten, Gun Trafficking, Washington 2014

The final defendant in a Snohomish County gun trafficking ring has been sentenced to six years in prison for his role in the conspiracy.

Curtis Van Putten, 44, of Marysville, Washington, pleaded guilty in February 2014 to conspiracy to unlawfully traffic in firearms and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced on not provided to six years in prison and three years of supervised release.

As a felon, Van Putten was barred from possessing the three stolen assault rifles that he sold to an undercover officer on December 11, 2012. The firearms had been stolen from a home in Oak Harbor, Washington just the day before the sale.

The investigation into the gun trafficking ring was conducted by the Snohomish Regional Gang and Drug Task Force, the Seattle Police Department’s Major Crimes Task Force, and the FBI. During the investigation, those agencies were assisted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Snohomish County Violent Offender Task Force and the United States Marshal’s Violent Offender Task Force.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kate Crisham and Justin Arnold. In addition to Van Putten, conspirators Heather Chancey, James Michaels, and Mark Jenkins were also involved in the gun trafficking ring. Chancey was sentenced to nine years in prison, Michaels was sentenced to 10 months in prison, and Jenkins was sentenced to 42 months in prison for conspiracy to unlawfully sell firearms.

According to records in the case, on multiple occasions between October 2012 and January 2013, Heather Chancey and her co-conspirators sold guns to an undercover law enforcement agent. Most of the sales occurred in the parking lot of the Tulalip Resort Casino in Marysville, Washington. Some of the sales occurred in other parking lots of businesses in Marysville or Arlington, Washington or at a Marysville residence.

The ring trafficked 49 firearms. Van Putten sold three of the firearms to the undercover officer in a transaction brokered by Chancey at an Interstate 5 rest stop near Arlington, Washington. The firearms included a Ruger Ranch .223 caliber rifle, a DPMS Panther Arms, model AR-15, .223 caliber rifle and a DPMS Panther Arms, model LR-308, .308 caliber rifle. Van Putten sold the firearms for $1050.

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