Southwest Washington Repeat Offenders Sentenced to Prison for Gun and Drug Crimes
Offenders from Kelso and Vancouver Targeted in Separate Investigations
| U.S. Attorney’s Office April 23, 2012 |
Federal prosecutors obtained significant prison sentences for repeat offenders whose crimes plagued Southwest Washington neighborhoods, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. On Friday April 20, Michael Anthony Rehak, 40, of Kelso, Washington, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to four years in prison and five years of supervised release for possession of a machine gun and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Jose Arreola-Reyes, 26, of Vancouver, Washington was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to eight years in prison for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.
Arreola-Reyes is a member of the violent Surenos street gang. On June 2, 2011, officers searched his Vancouver home and found a quarter of a kilogram of pure methamphetamine and a loaded 9mm caliber Beretta semi-automatic pistol. Arreola-Reyes has prior convictions for domestic violence as well as illegally reentering the U.S. following deportation. He likely will be deported to his home country of Mexico following his eight year prison term.
Rehak was arrested in September 2011 following a court authorized search of his home on May 11, 2010. Officers discovered small amounts of methamphetamine and marijuana as well as other evidence of drug dealing. Also in the home was a kit for constructing a machine gun, as well as ammunition for the machine gun. When Rehak was taken into custody last year, he had methamphetamine in his pocket that he planned to sell to others. Rehak has prior convictions dating back to 1997 for assault, bail jumping, and harassment.
Rehak pleaded guilty on January 24, 2012 and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Bryan. Arreola-Reyes pleaded guilty on January 26, 2012 and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle.
Arreola-Reyes was investigated by the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force. Rehak was investigated by the Kelso Police Department; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and the Cowlitz County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Gregory A. Gruber and Michael Dion.