Bruce Gerald Cole, Interstate Marijuana Smuggling, South Dakota 2009

A brazen scheme to smuggle high-grade marijuana across state lines has landed a Washington man a five-year stint behind bars.

According to court documents, 47-year-old Bruce Gerald Cole directed a shipment of approximately 22.67 kilograms of high-grade marijuana from Washington State to South Dakota in the spring of 2009. The shipment also included 61.5 grams of heroin and two firearms.

Cole planned to sell the shipment himself, using the firearms for personal protection during the transaction and the heroin for his own use. However, his plans were foiled when South Dakota Law Enforcement intercepted the vehicle, couriers, heroin, and firearms on May 27, 2009.

The investigation was a collaborative effort between the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the South Dakota Highway Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and several law enforcement agencies in the state of Washington.

Cole, who was charged with Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance, pled guilty and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange on February 9, 2015.

As part of his sentence, Cole will serve 60 months in custody, concurrent with sentences imposed in federal court in Nevada and state court in New Hampshire. He will also serve 2 years of supervised release and pay $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Maher prosecuted the case, and Cole was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

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