Final member of Snohomish County drug ring sentenced

ARLINGTON — The final member of a major Snohomish County drug trafficking ring was sentenced earlier this year, the last in a federal case that put more than a dozen defendants behind bars.

In April, a U.S. District Court judge sentenced Juan de Dios Alcaraz-Mardueno was sentenced to nine years in federal prison after pleading guilty to dealing methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin as part of an organization operating throughout Western Washington.

Alcaraz-Mardueno worked under one of the ringleaders, Omar Vazquez-Limon. Alcaraz-Mardueno would get large quantities of drugs from Vazquez-Limon and then redistribute them to others throughout the region, according to court papers.

For example, in October 2019, Vazquez-Limon told Alcaraz-Mardueno to get a container “with the errand,” referring to drugs, prosecutors alleged based on phone conversations intercepted via wiretap. Alcaraz-Mardueno confirmed he found 4,000 “buttons,” referring to pills laced with fentanyl.

He would also transport drugs from other states to Washington, according to court documents. In February 2020, federal agents stopped Alcaraz-Mardueno’s car in Centralia. A search of the car revealed 12 kilograms of meth, 1.8 kilograms of heroin and 162 grams of fentanyl pills, as well as a loaded handgun.

In December 2020, the feds took down the drug ring, reportedly seizing 143 pounds of meth, 15 pounds of heroin, 35,000 fentanyl pills, 24 guns and nearly $800,000 across a dozen properties.

The centerpiece of the operation was ringleader Cesar Valdez-Sanudo’s compound near Arlington. On the property, agents found stashes of drugs and money buried throughout. In a trailer, they found a map appearing to show where the drugs and money were buried.

Prosecutors alleged Valdez-Sanudo and his wife, Yvette Olguin, laundered the drug proceeds through real estate and car purchases. Valdez-Sanudo pleaded guilty and got 15 years in federal prison. Olguin, of Everett, got 2½ years.

Vazquez-Limon, of Kent, also pleaded guilty. He received a 10-year prison term.

The rest of those indicted in the federal case received varying prison terms. They are:

• Gabriel Vazquez-Ruiz, of Bothell, was sentenced to 10 years;

• Jose Luis Arredondo-Valdez, of Lake Stevens, got nine years;

• Tracy Hawkins, of Gold Bar, got nine years;

• Steven Del Vecchio, a distributor from Snohomish, also got nine;

• Wayne Frisby, a Marysville man and blind rapper who dealt the drugs, got six years;

• Keith Silverson, a dealer from Tacoma, also got six;

• Aaron Alarcon-Castaneda, a dealer from Chino, California, similarly got six years;

• Ana Pacheco was sentenced to six, as well;

• Fausto Paz, a courier, got four years; and

• Clint Schlotfeldt pleaded guilty and entered a sentencing alternative program involving intensive substance use treatment called DREAM;

Several of the defendants moved to reduce their sentences. Judge John Coughenour denied each of them.

Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; X: @GoldsteinStreet.