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Press Release

Port Angeles Drug Trafficker Sentenced to Eleven Years in Prison for Meth Distribution Conspiracy

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Washington
Long-Time Drug Dealer Used Car Dealership as a Front for Meth Distribution

          The former owner of ‘Sellin Style’ car dealership in Sequim, Washington, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 11 years in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, announced Acting United States Attorney Annette L. Hayes.  TIMOTHY P. SMITH, 31, pleaded guilty in January 2015.  SMITH was arrested in February 2014, following a high speed chase that ended after two sets of spike strips were placed on the highway.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge Robert J. Bryan said SMITH was the organizer of an “ongoing, long-term, large conspiracy” involving “weapons and violent undertones.”

            “This defendant was a menace in his community who spread methamphetamine and its attendant harm on the Olympic Peninsula,” said Acting United States Attorney Annette L. Hayes.  “The fact that this defendant has been held to account is a testament to effective coordination between federal, state and local law enforcement.”

          According to records in the case, SMITH was the leader of a longstanding methamphetamine distribution ring that supplied large quantities of the drug over several years.  SMITH sold methamphetamine to a person working with law enforcement on multiple occasions in June, July and August 2013 at or near his ‘Sellin Style’ car dealership on Old Blyn Highway near Sequim.  SMITH also possessed and sold methamphetamine at other locations in and around Port Angeles.  Law enforcement surveillance also revealed SMITH conducting drug deals with his suppliers at multiple locations in Kitsap County including the Four Corners Chevron and Hilltop gas stations in Poulsbo, the parking lot of the Walmart in Poulsbo, and the parking lot of the Target store in Silverdale.

          In conjunction with a separate investigation and take-down of another drug ring, which was supplying methamphetamine to SMITH and others, law enforcement arrested SMITH as he traveled back to Sequim from Kitsap County on Sunday evening, February 23, 2014.  Shortly after SMITH’s vehicle crossed the Hood Canal Bridge, the Washington State Patrol pulled the car over.  After initially stopping, SMITH sped away, traveling at speeds nearing 100 mph and weaving into the lane for oncoming traffic.  Troopers noticed white bags being tossed from the car.  The car hit one set of spike strips and continued on.  After hitting a second set of spike strips the car came to a halt and SMITH and his girlfriend were taken into custody.  Inside the bags tossed from the car, law enforcement found 1.6 pounds of methamphetamine.  The girlfriend also had $4,000 in cash on her person, which she revealed in a monitored jail call to have been given to her by SMITH during the police chase.

          One of SMITH’s co-conspirators, Tammy R. Coburn, was sentenced last month to 18 months in prison.  The other defendants, Holli A. Bell, Jacob E. Davis, and Charles D. Aslin, have also pleaded guilty in the case and are pending sentencing.

          The case was investigated by the FBI, ATF, and Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team (OPNET), a task force containing officers from Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Port Angeles Police Department, Sequim Police Department, Neah Bay Department of Public Safety, Elwha Klallam Police, LaPush Police, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Border Patrol, the Washington Department of Corrections, Washington State Patrol and the West Sound Narcotics Enforcement Team (WestNet).

          The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory A. Gruber.

Updated April 6, 2015

Topic
Drug Trafficking