Jade Alexander Beavin, Fentanyl Dealing with Handguns, Washington 2023

Two men, Jade Alexander Beavin and Lavonta Austin, have pleaded guilty to dealing fentanyl while armed with handguns in Washington state. The men, both involved with firearms and fentanyl, were caught repeatedly with drugs and guns, conduct that ultimately landed them in federal court.

Jade Beavin, 33, of Everett, was arrested by Everett Police on July 27, 2021, with three kilos of fentanyl powder in the trunk of his car. In the interior of the car was a loaded 9mm handgun. A court-authorized search of the car also resulted in the seizure of a scale, ammunition, and drug ledger. Beavin was also arrested with narcotics and a revolver in January 2020 and was arrested with a third firearm in February 2022.

When Beavin is sentenced on October 20, 2023, prosecutors will recommend no more than ten years in prison, and the defense has agreed to recommend no less than eight years in prison. Beavin pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Lavonta Austin, 30, of Seattle, was first contacted by Seattle Police at 3rd Avenue and Pike Street in downtown Seattle on August 4, 2022. After selling fentanyl pills to an undercover officer, Austin attempted to run from police when they took him into custody. Austin had methamphetamine, fentanyl, more than $2,000 in cash, and a loaded 45-caliber handgun. A few months later, on October 9, 2022, Austin was arrested at a Seattle motel with fentanyl, methamphetamine, $1,770 in cash, and a loaded 9mm handgun. Both the prosecutors and defense will recommend a 5-year sentence.

Austin pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The drug possession charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and the gun crime is punishable by a mandatory minimum five years in prison that runs consecutive to the sentence imposed on the drug possession charge.

U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman said, 'Our office and our investigative partners work every day to stop the flow of fentanyl into our community. We pursue large cartel-connected drug rings that import hundreds of thousands of pills, as well as individual dealers whose criminal conduct with guns and drugs undermines the safety of our community.'

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/separate-cases-two-men-plead-guilty-dealing-fentanyl-while-armed-handguns