A Thurston County resident who shipped packages of methamphetamine and heroin to a small town in Alaska so he could distribute it there, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  ROBERT DEAN GRIMES, 52, was arrested on October 14, 2011, when he returned to Washington State from Alaska after eluding law enforcement after he attempted to retrieve packages of drugs from the post office in Soldotna, Alaska.  GRIMES has a significant criminal history including multiple drug trafficking convictions since 1979, as well as assault, with a deadly weapon, eluding arrest and theft.  When law enforcement searched his home at the time of his arrest, they found a large quantity of stolen goods -- from tools to watches to jewelry, most likely payment for drugs.  U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton imposed the sentence that had been requested by prosecutors.

            According to records filed in the case, GRIMES worked with co-conspirators in September 2011, to mail packages containing large amounts of methamphetamine and heroin to Soldotna, Alaska.  GRIMES and a co-conspirator tried to pick the drug packages up on October 3, 2011, but were told to return the following day.   After the men picked up the packages they discovered they contained GPS trackers.  The men threw the packages out of their vehicle and attempted to hide from police at a flop house.  Ultimately GRIMES’ co-schemers were arrested in Alaska, but GRIMES evaded law enforcement until apprehended when he returned to Washington State.  Records indicate that GRIMES had made a number of similar trips to Alaska.

            In asking for a lengthy prison sentence prosecutors noted the connection between drug dealing such as GRIMES’ and the rise in crime in our communities.  “Grimes is a danger to society and will remain a serious threat unless incarcerated.  Society deserves better.  The public deserves to know that their personal and valuable belongings are safe and not the currency of drug dealers.  Society must be assured that dangerous drugs are not being mailed across the country and that small towns like Soldotna, Alaska, are not further burdened by out-of-state drug dealers,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.

            This was an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, providing supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved.  The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patricia Lally.  

 

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