Grays Harbor man sentenced to 10 years after drug dealing in federal detention leads to inmate’s fatal overdose

A 38-year-old Grays Harbor County man was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Monday for drug trafficking heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl.

Gabriel Armas was on federal supervised release for a previous conviction for heroin and methamphetamine when he was arrested again for distributing narcotics, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.

Armas was incarcerated at the Federal Detention Center (FDC) at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), where he began to distribute heroin again, resulting in the fatal overdose of another inmate.

“A federal arrest and incarceration can be the first step towards getting clean and sober, but not when other inmates scheme to deal drugs while imprisoned,” U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said. “In this case, a family was touched by tragedy when their son died of an overdose caused by this defendant. It is a priority for our office to prosecute cases of contraband in jails and prisons.”

High-speed chase ends with collapsed bridge, drug discovery

On November 14, 2023, Armas was found asleep at the wheel of a car in an Ocean Shores parking lot, according to records filed in the case. When an officer knocked on the window, Armas drove off at high speeds. Law enforcement ended its pursuit due to Armas’ reckless driving.

Armas got his car stuck on a bridge that was not designed for vehicle traffic, and the bridge collapsed. Armas fled the scene, but a drug-detecting dog found items he had abandoned in the area, including fentanyl pills, fentanyl powder, and crystal methamphetamine. Identity cards were also found in Armas’ name.

Days later, Armas was found in the area where the car was abandoned, and he was later booked into the FDC. Armas was initially booked for violating the conditions of his federal supervision from a 2014 drug trafficking conviction.

On November 19, 2023, Armas was housed in the Special Housing Unit, and the next morning, November 20, the person sharing a cell with Armas was found unresponsive and died despite life-saving efforts. An autopsy indicated the cellmate died from acute heroin, olanzapine, and mirtazapine intoxication.

Authorities later found heroin hidden inside Armas’ cell on November 23, 2023, which was wrapped in a jailhouse note offering heroin for sale to inmates. A couple of weeks later, more heroin was found at the top of a pill bottle in Armas’ cell.

Armas admits to selling heroin, acknowledged role in cellmate’s death

On January 25, 2024, Armas admitted to another inmate that he had made money selling heroin to other inmates and that his cellmate overdosed and died from the heroin. Armas claimed he swallowed some of the heroin to hide it from FDC staff after his cellmate’s overdose.

“In the space of just over a week, Mr. Armas’s series of reckless actions contributed to his cellmate’s overdose death; endangered the community by fleeing law enforcement at high speed; and collapsed a bridge not designed for vehicles during that pursuit,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. “He has clearly not learned his lesson from his last drug trafficking conviction, as he was also found to have fentanyl and heroin in his vehicle and prison cell.”

Armas was sentenced for two counts of possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, and was ordered to be on supervised release for eight years following his prison sentence.

In asking for a 10-year sentence, prosecutors wrote to the court: “By selling drugs in the FDC, Armas demonstrated a complete disregard for the safety of other incarcerated individuals, many of whom have significant addiction issues that have contributed to their being detained. By aiming to provide drugs to other inmates, Armas took advantage of a captive clientele of drug users, many of whom were likely in the process of withdrawal due to their incarceration, rendering them more vulnerable to the harmful effects of opioids.”

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