Criminal Alien of the Week Report July, 23 2024
Lars Larson Show: Criminal Alien of the Week Report
July 23, 2024

By David Olen Cross

The “Lars Larson Show: Criminal Alien of the Week Report” in the third week of July 2024 has for your radio listeners and webpage followers a report on a foreign national illegally present in the country who was charged, convicted and sentenced for drug trafficking in a U.S. District Court in the state of Washington.

Some background information, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024 the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington (USAOWDW), issued a news release titled “First of six-member drug trafficking ring bringing hundreds of pounds of narcotics to western Washington sentenced to 8.5 years in prison” who the main subject of interest was Ernesto Casillas (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington Court Case Number: CR22-151LK).

Here is an extended excerpt from USAOWCW’s July 10, 2024 news release on Ernesto Casillas:

Group used RV’s and mail to ship drugs from California

Seattle –The first of six defendants tied to a significant drug trafficking ring that used recreational vehicles to transport massive quantities of methamphetamine, fentanyl pills, cocaine and heroin was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 102 months in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Ernesto Casillas, 48, has been in custody since his arrest on September 9, 2022. Casillas was arrested at a Kent, Washington hotel with more than three kilograms of heroin, more than five kilograms of fentanyl pills and more than six kilograms of cocaine. There were two firearms in the room as well as more than $145,000 in cash. At today’s sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Lauren King said, “Despite two sentences that were drug related you not only continued distributing drugs, but you did it on a massive scale. You did all of this for money without regard for the consequences.”

“Mr. Casillas was a member of one of three inter-related drug trafficking rings taken off the street in the fall of 2022,” said U.S. Attorney Gorman. “Even when one of the RV’s connected to the group was pulled off the highway and seized by law enforcement, the traffickers didn’t stop. Mr. Casillas not only traveled for the group with drugs, he mailed the drugs to other communities across the country.”

According to records filed in the case, Casillas was seen shipping packages of drug via FedEx to various addresses in Western Washington and elsewhere. In July and August 2022, he shipped five kilograms of cocaine to a Kent, Washington address, more than two kilograms of cocaine to a Columbus, Ohio, and approximately 20 pounds of methamphetamine to a Federal Way, Washington address.

On September 9, 2022, Casillas was arrested along with

• Agustin Gutierrez Valencia, 33, of Kent, Washington

• Daniel Vazquez Arroyo, 33, of Kent, Washington

• Rosalio Reynoso Arellano, 52, of Los Angeles

• Benigno Hernandez aka Ivan Santos Arellano, 33, of Kent, Washington

• Jesus Toledo Pardo, 27, of SeaTac, Washington

On April 3, 2024, Casillas pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and one count of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm.

In asking for a 102-month prison sentence, prosecutors wrote to the court. “There is no question that this is a serious criminal offense given the staggering amount of drugs being transported by this DTO. Between two seizures over the course of four days, agents were able to seize approximately 749 pounds of methamphetamine, 25 kilograms of fentanyl laced pills, over seventeen kilograms of cocaine, over seven kilograms of heroin, and five kilograms of fentanyl powder. Mr. Casillas and his co-conspirators were in charge of pumping massive amounts of dangerous and deadly substances into the community.”

Prosecutors noted the harm fentanyl and methamphetamine are doing in the community. During 2024, in King County alone, there have already been 556 overdose deaths as of July 3, 2024, with 420 of those deaths involving fentanyl and 310 of them involving methamphetamine.

The investigation was led by the FBI field offices in Seattle and Los Angeles, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Seattle Police Department, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), and Homeland Security Investigations, both the LA and Seattle offices.” – U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.

On Tuesday, July 16, 2024 Ernesto Casillas (BOP Register Number: 20766-510) was incarcerated by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) at SeaTac FDC located in Seattle, Washington.

Seeking information on the country of origin of Ernesto Casillas on June 16, 2024 the “Criminal Alien of the Week Report” contacted via e-mail U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington Communication Director.

On the same day, the USAOWDW Communication Director responded via e-mail identifying the country of origin of Ernesto Casillas:

“He is a citizen of Mexico.” – U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of Washington.

Ernesto Casillas since being sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington for the drug crime he has joined more than 12-thousand Mexican nationals incarcerated in the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) prison system.

Lars, the third week of July 2024 and another “Criminal Alien of the Week Report” for Lars Larson Show KXL FM 101.1 Pacific Northwest radio listeners and website followers.

David Olen Cross (docfnc) is a reporter on foreign national crime. He is a more than decade long contributor to the “Lars Larson Show: Criminal Alien of the Week Report.” His past crime reporting can be found at http://docfnc.wordpress.com/.

https://docfnc.wordpress.com/2024/07/17/lars-larson-show-criminal-alien-of-the-week-report-362/