Swinomish Tribal member sentenced to six years in prison for selling drugs while carrying guns

A member of the Swinomish Indian Tribe was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison for selling drugs on the Swinomish Reservation and across Skagit County while carrying guns, U.S. Attorney Nick Brown announced.

Robert Andrew Johnny, 28, was indicted last year after being caught with guns and drugs two different times.

According to court records, police contacted Johnny on March 14, 2022, when he was a passenger in a car being driven by someone else. Police found 90,000 fentanyl pills and two kilograms of methamphetamine in the car, along with four guns and $10,000 in cash.

Police searched Johnny’s home and found 2,800 more fentanyl pills and more methamphetamine.

The year prior, in June 2021, law enforcement officials searched a car Johnny had driven and found fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, and a backpack containing a gun and other items with Johnny’s name.

Johnny pleaded guilty in October 2022 to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

Prosecutors stressed the danger of fentanyl and methamphetamine in asking the judge to impose a six-year prison sentence. “These substances destroy the lives of their users, including leading to death in some cases,” said Assistant United States Attorney Miriam Hinman. “Our society also bears an enormous burden for medical treatment, substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, law enforcement, and corrections. In addition to the danger that Johnny created for users of the drugs that he distributed, Johnny’s activities also created danger to the public by involving firearms to protect drugs and cash.”

U.S. District Judge Lauren King imposed four years of supervised release to follow Johnny’s six-year prison term.

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