AUBURN MAN SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS IN PRISON FOR METHAMPHETAMINE PRODUCTION OPERATED METH LAB THAT CONTAMINATED RENTAL PROPERTY AND ENDANGERED CHILDREN
JAMES H. BEAUCHMAN, 32, of Auburn, Washington was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle today to 25 years in prison and five years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Maintaining a Drug Involved Premises and Possessing a Firearm during and in relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime. BEAUCHMAN was convicted by a jury of the charges on August 11, 2005. In sentencing BEAUCHMAN today U.S. District Judge James L. Robart told him, "You have spent a lot of time in courtrooms. I am unfortunately the last stop. Twenty-five years is going to make you a middle-aged man when you are released. These were not victimless crimes."
A search of the Auburn lakefront property that BEAUCHMAN was renting turned up evidence of a substantial meth cooking operation. A dozen firearms were found at the house. BEAUCHMAN had lied on the rental application, and within one month of taking up residency, his meth activities had so contaminated the home and garage that it was uninhabitable. Methamphetamine, and the damaging chemicals used to make it, were stored in places accessible to two children living in the home. The home owner has been left with a hefty bill to try to clean up the property.
In asking for a lengthy sentence, Assistant United States Attorney Patty Lally highlighted how BEAUCHMAN's crimes impacted many people, from the neighbors whose homes and streets are less safe, to the victims of meth-related crimes (identity theft, bank fraud, mail fraud, etc.), as addicts look for quick and easy money to support their habits. Of particular concern are the children of meth addicted parents whose lives are forever altered. "We can only wonder how many lives were destroyed by James Beauchman's manufacture of methamphetamine." Lally told the court, "No doubt, Beauchman's meth found new users, new addicts, and created new street crime."
The case was investigated by the King County Sheriff's Department, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Patricia Lally and Jill Otake.
For additional information please contact Emily Langlie, Public Affairs Officer for the United States Attorney's Office, Western District of Washington, (206) 553-4110.
