Department of Justice

Spokane – William D. Hyslop, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Randall Curtis Gross, age 27, of Grand Coulee, Washington, was sentenced today after having pleaded guilty on February 11, 2020, to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine as well as heroin. Senior District Court Judge Wm. Fremming Nielsen sentenced Gross to a 10-year term of imprisonment, to be followed by a 5-year term of court supervision after he is released from federal prison.

According to information disclosed during court proceedings, Gross primarily distributed methamphetamine and heroin to individuals residing on the Colville Indian Reservation. Gross was identified as a drug trafficker as a result of an extensive, long-term joint investigation led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (“ATF”) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) into drug and firearms trafficking in Grant County, Washington, and surrounding areas. During the investigation, law enforcement officers obtained a court-authorized wire-tap and executed search warrants at multiple locations in Eastern Washington. While searching Gross’ trailer near Grand Coulee, Washington, in July 2019, investigators found a fully-loaded assault rifle near a quantity of methamphetamine.

United States Attorney Hyslop said, “Prosecuting those who distribute drugs on Indian Reservations remains a top priority for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington. The sentence imposed sends a strong message that drug trafficking will not be tolerated. I commend the relentless work of the federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement officers who investigated this case.”

This case was prosecuted under the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program. PSN is a federal, state, and local law enforcement collaboration to identify, investigate, and prosecute individuals responsible for violent crimes in our neighborhoods. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement to specifically identify the criminals responsible for violent crime in the Eastern District of Washington and pursue criminal prosecution.

Today’s enforcement action is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) investigation. The OCDETF program provides supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved in the investigation of drug-related crimes. This OCDETF investigation is being conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

This case was investigated by the Spokane District Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Spokane Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Moses Lake Police Department, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, the Ephrata Police Department, the Colville Tribal Police, and the Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. This case was prosecuted by Caitlin Baunsgard, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.

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