STANWOOD MAN SENTENCED TO 78 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR SMUGGLING GUNS AND MARIJUANA
Defendant Smuggled Guns to Canada, Later used in Assaults and Attempted Murder
JASON DEAN SMITH, 33, of Stanwood, Washington was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 78 months in prison and three years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana and Exporting Defense Articles without a License. At sentencing U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez told him it was particularly egregious that he dealt guns to criminals in Canada while he was already on supervised release on a drug smuggling charge.
SMITH originally came to the attention of law enforcement in May of 2005, as part of a smuggling ring attempting to bring marijuana into the United States from Canada. While SMITH was on pretrial release for that crime, he was involved in a conspiracy to smuggle 200 guns into Canada. According to government records, some of those guns have been involved in violent crimes, including one involved in an attempted murder. In just the last six months, two of the guns SMITH smuggled into Canada have been linked to crime investigations: a handgun was found in a minivan that had been involved in a shooting. In this incident a gang member in the minivan had used a shotgun to fire 21 shots at a rival gang member, his wife and three-year-old child. A second handgun was recovered when a gang member, high on drugs, used it to shoot up his apartment.
At sentencing SMITH told Judge Martinez that “What I did was stupid... I’ve lost everything. Two businesses gone because I was stupid.”
In arguing for a sentence at the top of the guidelines range, Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Friedman wrote to the court, “Smith knowingly helped put more than 200 guns into the hands of criminals in Canada. Smith’s actions have already contributed to an epidemic of violence in Canada, have facilitated numerous shootings, and likely will contribute to actual murders before all the guns are recovered.”
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF).
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew Friedman and David Reese Jennings.
For additional information please contact Emily Langlie, Public Affairs Officer for the United States Attorney’s Office, at (206) 553-4110.
