Washington Man Sentenced to Prison and Ordered to Forfeit $500,000 for Distributing Marijuana Throughout United States from Seattle
BOISE – Walter Terry, 57, of Seattle, Washington, was sentenced today to spend one year in federal prison for distributing 146 kilograms of marijuana, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Terry pleaded guilty to one count of distributing marijuana on January 6, 2016. Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge, also sentenced Terry to serve three years of supervised release, pay a $2,000 fine, and forfeit $500,000 in cash proceeds and his Seattle residence valued at $700,000, which served as the operational center for his multi-state marijuana distribution operation.
According to arguments at today’s sentencing, Terry began advertising marijuana for sale over the internet in 2011. Terry admitted to distributing approximately 146 kilograms of marijuana throughout the United States, including Idaho, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Texas.
An undercover DEA special agent contacted Terry in January 2013, and Terry agreed to mail marijuana from Seattle, Washington, to the undercover agent in Boise, Idaho. Between January 2013, and March 2014, Terry sent six shipments of marijuana to Idaho. In May 2014, Terry agreed to sell the undercover agent five pounds of marijuana. Terry met the undercover agent in Seattle and was arrested after providing the undercover agent with the five pounds of marijuana. Terry told DEA agents that he began his marijuana distribution operation out of his residence in Seattle in 2010 or 2011. Terry stated that after the state of Washington legalized medicinal marijuana, his business was negatively affected and he began advertising his marijuana distribution business on websites to out-of-state customers. Terry consented to a search of his residence in Seattle, and law enforcement seized approximately 15 pounds of marijuana and $30,000 in drug proceeds.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Seattle Police Department, King County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Postal Inspectors.