Jesse James Bailey, Fentanyl Trafficking, Washington 2023

Jesse James Bailey, 39, of Steilacoom, Washington, in custody

Twenty-seven people were indicted by a grand jury for drug trafficking, and many of those in the indictment are tied to the “Aryan Family,” a white supremacist prison gang, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Twenty-four of the defendants have been arrested over the last five days in Washington and Arizona.

The alleged leader of the drug trafficking organization, Jesse James Bailey, is also an influential member of the Aryan Family prison gang. Bailey is alleged to have trafficked huge amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other drugs in Washington, Idaho, and to Alaska.

“While the dozen counts in this indictment do not detail every criminal moment in this conspiracy, it does provide one remarkable statistic: 48 firearms seized in this case even before last week’s takedown,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.

“On Wednesday we took another 177 guns off the street and additional kilos of fentanyl and meth. The level of danger is high when you have people connected to Aryan prison gangs spreading drugs and using guns in our community.”

On Wednesday March 22, 2023, the coordinated takedown involving ten swat teams and more than 350 law enforcement officers resulted in the seizure of an additional 177 firearms, more than ten kilos of methamphetamine, 11 kilos of fentanyl pills and more than a kilo of fentanyl powder, three kilos of heroin, and more than $330,000 in cash from eighteen locations in Washington and Arizona.

Defendants have been indicted by the grand jury. All are in federal custody unless otherwise noted.

These defendants were indicted:

• Jesse James Bailey, 39, of Steilacoom, Washington, in custody
• Thomas Carver, 59, of Auburn, Washington in custody
• Bryson Gill, 30, of Buckeye, Arizona, in custody in Arizona
• Yehoshua Kilp, 37, incarcerated in Washington State prison
• Gustavo Castellanos-Tapia, 37, of Burien, Washington, in custody
• Candice Bailey, 41, of Steilacoom, in custody
• Ronaldo McComb, 58, of Ridgefield, Washington, in custody
• Keagen Larsen, 28, currently incarcerated in King County Jail
• Sean Moinette, 54, of Spanaway, Washington in custody
• Gregory Beers, 30, of Edgewood, Washington, being sought by law enforcement
• Michael Warren, 63, of Shelton, Washington, in custody
• Michael Slocumb, 44, of Concho, Arizona, in custody in Arizona
• Isaac Cervantes, 24, of Phoenix, in custody in Arizona
• Sara Thompson, 37, of Bonney Lake, Washington, in custody
• Shawn Ellis, 31, of Renton, Washington, in custody
• Eric Smith, 52, incarcerated in Washington State prison
• Joseph Hempel, 45, of Burien, Washington, in custody
• Stephanie Yepez, 42, being sought by law enforcement
• Daniel Hammond, 41, of Puyallup, Washington, in custody
• Philip Boorkman, 40, of Seattle, in custody
• C’La Morales, 36, of Pierce County, in custody
• Ronnie Griffin, 64, of Tacoma, in custody
• Anna Sarnes, 37, of Quilcene, Washington, in custody
• Anthony Escoto, 51, of Tukwila, in custody
• William Tripp, 34, being sought by law enforcement
• Dana Hanson, 57, of Burbank, Washington, in custody
• Justin Hanson, 48, of Burbank, Washington in custody

Before last week’s takedown, during the year that the ring was under investigation, law enforcement seized 830,000 fentanyl pills, 5.5 pounds of fentanyl powder, 223 pounds of methamphetamine, 3.5 pounds of heroin, 5 pounds of cocaine, $388,000 in cash, and 48 firearms.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/drug-ring-tied-aryan-prison-gang-indicted-24-federal-arrests