DES MOINES, Wash. — This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com.
A Honduran national, who was living in Des Moines, was sentenced to prison for distributing fentanyl that nearly killed his infant.
The 37-year-old man will spend six years in prison with three years of supervised release for drug and gun crimes, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington reported Monday.
Dennis Huisa was arrested three times over 15 months for possessing fentanyl pills and/or powder, methamphetamine, cocaine, and a gun. After the third arrest, Huisa was federally indicted and has been in custody since November 2024.
“[Fentanyl] is so dangerous and has destroyed so many lives,” U.S. District Judge John Chun said at the sentencing hearing, the attorney’s office stated. “He must have known that he was putting himself and his family at risk.”
Puyallup police first found Huisa on the side of the road in August 2023, according to records filed in the case. He told officers his car had overheated, and he and a passenger were waiting for the engine to cool down.
An officer noticed the license plate on the car did not match the type of vehicle listed in the registration. Another officer noticed blue pills in the car. Huisa’s car was subsequently impounded, and a search revealed there were around 1,000 fentanyl pills and suspected fentanyl powder. There was also a scale with drug residue.
9-month-old hospitalized after fentanyl exposure
Then, in September 2024, Puyallup police responded to a report of a nine-month-old who had stopped breathing.
“Huisa and a woman met the officers outside a box truck with the infant in their arms. Law enforcement worked to get the child to respond and breathe. Central Pierce Fire and Rescue responded and continued to work on providing aid to the child,” the attorney’s office stated.
Law enforcement found evidence that Huisa had given the infant two doses of Narcan, suspecting the child had been exposed to fentanyl.
Huisa permitted officers to search the box truck, where they found around 115 blue fentanyl pills. On Huisa, they found fentanyl powder and more than $16,000 in cash.
The child was taken to the hospital and was given additional doses of Narcan, and fortunately, survived. The child’s blood tested positive for fentanyl, amphetamine, and oxycodone.
In November 2024, the Auburn Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit searched the Des Moines motel where Huisa was living. They found small packages of fentanyl powder ready for sale, which Huisa had been trying to flush down the toilet when he heard authorities arrive.
“Officers found additional fentanyl powder, methamphetamine, and cocaine in other places around the room. Officers once again searched the box truck Huisa had been driving and found two kilograms of fentanyl powder and a Polymer 80 ‘ghost gun’ – a gun made without a serial number,” the attorney’s office stated.
Huisa was charged and then indicted in March 2025.
‘I did not come here to deal drugs’: Huisa pleads guilty in November 2025
In November 2025, he pled guilty to possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and money laundering.
Huisa had made about $370,000 in cash deposits to his bank account from drug dealing.
He told the court he was “very ashamed and cannot forgive myself for what I have done to my daughter. I did not come here to deal drugs,” according to the attorney’s office.
Huisa will most likely be deported to Honduras following his prison sentence, officials noted.
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