Repeat drug and gun offender sentenced to nine years in prison for new crimes committed while on supervised release

Seattle – A former resident of Pierce and Thurston Counties was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 9 years in prison for gun and drug crimes, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Deon Jordan, 35, was released from federal prison in September 2020, following an 87-month prison sentence for dealing drugs while armed. Jordan almost immediately violated the terms of his supervised release with drug use as well as firearms possession. Following two contacts with police when he was found to have guns and drugs – including fentanyl - Jordan was charged with new federal crimes. At today’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge John H. Chun said, “Fentanyl is the greatest drug threat facing our country.”

“The goal of supervised release is to help offenders return to the community and live a crime-free life. Sadly, Mr. Jordan chose to reject any assistance and instead carried on with criminal conduct,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gorman. “This nine-year sentence is now needed to keep the community safe from the drugs Mr. Jordan trafficked and the guns he was prepared to use to protect his deadly stash.”

In October 2022, Jordan was found passed out in a car under the freeway in downtown Seattle. After being identified by police, Jordan fled from the scene and hid a gun that he carried under a nearby car. Police seized that weapon and when they searched the car Jordan had been in, they found three more firearms as well as distribution amounts of heroin, crack cocaine, fentanyl pills and more than a kilogram of methamphetamine. A warrant was issued for Jordan’s arrest.

In November 2022, Jordan was located near a Seattle homeless encampment.  Federal officers surveilled the area, and observed Jordan get into a car. When the car stopped at a convenience store, officers moved in. Jordan was arrested with a 9 mm Baretta pistol in his pocket and a second unregistered 9 mm handgun with an extended magazine in his backpack. Jordan had fentanyl pills, heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, drug ledgers and more than $10,000 cash in his possession.

In April 2023 Jordan pleaded guilty to illegal firearms possession, possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

In asking for a 12-year prison sentence for both the new crimes and the violations of supervised release, Assistant United States Attorney Kate Crisham wrote to the court, “Simply put, whenever Jordan is not in custody, he sells drugs while using firearms to protect his business… When released, he exhibits complete disregard for the law and the Court by possessing firearms and ignoring the terms of his supervision. Furthermore, the fact that Jordan consistently carried loaded firearms and ammunition makes clear he is willing to fire these weapons if necessary to protect his drug stash…. Jordan’s actions put his entire community at risk.”

The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF).

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kate Crisham.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.