Mexican national sentenced following repeat arrests for drugs and guns
Mar 5, 2025, 5:00 AM
A Kennewick man appeared on court saying he killed his daughter when she was fine. (Photo: Getty Images)
(Photo: Getty Images)
A 30-year-old Mexican national was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday in U.S. District Court for drug trafficking and unlawfully possessing a firearm.
Jose Gerardo Rodriguez-Montoya was initially arrested during an investigation into a drug ring bringing narcotics from Arizona, according to a news release from acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington Teal Luthy Miller.
When searching Rodriguez-Montoya, authorities found 3 kg of fentanyl, 3 kg of heroin, methamphetamine and a handgun in his Federal Way apartment.
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Repeat arrests
In a second arrest, Rodriguez-Montoya was linked to a burglary and car theft in Snoqualmie and was found with another handgun. He pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2024.
Prosecutors highlighted alarming fentanyl overdose deaths in King County, mentioning Rodriguez-Montoya’s loss of his father to a fentanyl overdose in 2021.
In 2023, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office reported 1,085 fentanyl overdose deaths, 778 deaths in 2024 and 99 fentanyl-related deaths in King County so far this year.
Rodriguez-Montoya has been in federal custody since February 2024.
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