Downtown Seattle drug dealer sentenced to 5 years in prison

SEATTLE — A Seattle man was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison for crimes related to selling fentanyl pills in downtown Seattle and armed shoplifting in Bellevue, U.S. Attorney Nick Brown announced.

Kendall Alston, 31, was arrested on March 23, 2022, after Seattle police saw him making drug sales in the area of Third Avenue between Pike and Pine streets. Officers were surveilling the area as part of an emphasis patrol called Operation New Day, aimed at increasing public safety in the Pike/Pine corridor.

• Follow this link to read additional stories from KIRO 7

According to court records and trial testimony, an officer located at an observation point above the street saw a person in “distinctive clothing” making what appeared to be a drug deal. When the officer went down to street level, they saw the same person, later identified to be Alston, making another drug deal.

Officers moved in and took Alston into custody. He was carrying 244 blue pills that were later tested and found to contain fentanyl, along with a loaded gun in his backpack.

After a three-day trial in August 2022, a jury found Alston guilty of knowingly distributing fentanyl, possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Alston also pleaded guilty to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Those counts are related to the March 2022 arrest in downtown Seattle and a January 2022 arrest for shoplifting in Bellevue, where Alston was found to have a different gun.

“Mr. Alston was armed with a loaded handgun while dealing potentially deadly fentanyl pills in downtown Seattle,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “Drugs and guns are a deadly combination and getting both off the street is a priority for the community.”

Alston is prohibited from owning firearms due to two felony convictions — a 2018 residential burglary conviction in Pierce County, and a 2013 residential burglary conviction in King County.

• Follow this link to read additional stories from KIRO 7