Related Federal Cases
- Vivek Ramaswamy, Politician Snubs VP Slot, Washington DC, 2024 · Maryland
- Vivek Ramaswamy Declines VP Offer, Politicizing Private Sector, US,… · Maryland
- Joe Biden Condemns Corporate Price Fixing, Washington D.C., 2024 · Washington
- Hunter Biden, Bribery Allegations, Washington D.C., 2024 · Washington
- No Defendant Name Found, Taiwan Rattles China with Military Drills,… · Pennsylvania
Fentanyl Kingpin Convicted in Snohomish County
SEATTLE – A jury has convicted Bradley Woolard, 42, of Arlington, of multiple federal felonies for distributing fentanyl disguised as oxycodone pills in Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom Counties. Woolard was convicted of 28 counts involving conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, illegal gun possession, and possessing drugs with the intent to distribute them.
Woolard’s co-defendants, Anthony Pelayo, 34, of Marysville, and Jerome Isham, 40, of Everett, were also convicted of conspiracies related to drug distribution and illegal gun possession. The jury deliberated for two days following a ten-day trial.
According to testimony and exhibits during trial, the case began in the summer of 2018, when law enforcement officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Snohomish Regional Drug and Gang Task Force obtained multiple court-authorized search warrants for Woolard’s home. On July 28, 2018, they found more than 12,000 fentanyl pills designed to look like 30 mg oxycodone prescription narcotic.
The pills were pale blue in color and had “M” printed on one side and “30” on the other side. Over the course of multiple searches, law enforcement seized more than $1 million in cash and gold from Woolard’s five-acre compound, including cash hidden behind drywall, in the ceilings of outbuildings, and in a hole beneath a dishwasher. Investigators also discovered a hidden room containing 29 firearms ranging from handguns to assault rifles, including four firearm silencers and several thousand rounds of ammunition.
Testimony at trial revealed that in 2015 and 2016, Woolard began buying fentanyl and furanyl fentanyl powder from China after researching how to do so on the Dark Web. He bought a pill press and mixing materials from websites such as Amazon and eBay and taught himself how to make homemade pills. Testimony at trial established that Woolard’s pill making operation was capable of producing more than 2.5 million pills containing fentanyl and furanyl fentanyl, and that he regularly provided thousands of pills to other conspirators for distribution.
Pelayo was convicted of two money laundering conspiracies and multiple counts of money laundering, including using $100,000 of his cash drug proceeds to purchase a luxury RV. He was also convicted of possessing a firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking – resulting in a 5-year consecutive prison term to any other sentence imposed in the case.
Isham was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The men are scheduled for sentencing by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour on November 16, 2021. Woolard continued to distribute the pills while seeking treatment for his own drug addictions at spa-like resorts in Costa Rica and Mexico, which cost him between $30,000 and $50,000 per month, paid for with the profits of his illicit pill operation.
Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News