Yehoshua Kilp, 39, identified as the leader of a drug distribution cell connected to Aryan prison gangs, was sentenced to 14 years in prison in U.S. District Court in Tacoma. The sentencing follows a two-year investigation into drug trafficking organizations linked to the Aryan Family and Omerta prison gangs.
At the sentencing hearing, Chief U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo commented on the scale of the case: “The amount of controlled substances we are talking about are mind-boggling… There were discussions about particularly potent batches of fentanyl that was possibly leading to overdoses and yet you kept going.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller stated, “This defendant has been involved with the criminal justice system since age 14 and has caused significant harm. The wiretap investigation revealed that even when he was jailed on state charges, he continued to direct drug distribution activities.”
Court records show that Kilp purchased and distributed large amounts of methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl pills. In August 2022, law enforcement seized over 44 kilograms of methamphetamine, more than 4 kilograms of fentanyl-laced pills, cocaine, and heroin from an Airbnb where Kilp had been staying. Even after his arrest on state charges, Kilp continued to direct drug operations through co-defendant Sara Thompson, who acted as his proxy for major narcotics deals and was sentenced to seven years in prison earlier this year.
Investigators found that Kilp persisted in distributing fentanyl pills despite knowing they were causing overdoses. He and his associates discussed ways to make the fentanyl less pure or package it differently to protect those smuggling it internally.
Kilp also faced charges in Arizona for laundering drug money back to sources in Mexico. On March 12, 2025, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges related to distributing controlled substances and money laundering. The sentence announced today resolves both the Arizona and Washington cases.
A coordinated law enforcement operation on March 22, 2023 led to two dozen arrests on federal charges across Washington and Arizona. Authorities seized firearms, large quantities of drugs including methamphetamine and fentanyl pills, heroin, cash totaling over $330,000 from multiple locations during this operation. Earlier phases of the investigation resulted in additional seizures of drugs and firearms.
Jesse Bailey, identified as the top leader of the trafficking ring above Kilp’s role within the organization, received a sentence of 17.5 years last month. Prosecutors described Kilp as just below Bailey in rank within the network: “Kilp was the leader of a large network of drug redistributors responsible for moving hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine and hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills.” Prosecutors recommended a sentence of 15 years with five years supervised release; Chief Judge Estudillo ordered five years supervised release following Kilp’s prison term.
The case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation—a program designed to identify and dismantle high-level criminal networks through collaboration among federal, state, and local agencies.
The FBI led this investigation with assistance from agencies including DEA, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Washington State Department of Corrections, Tacoma Police Department, Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, Thurston County Narcotics Task Force (led by Thurston County Sheriff’s Office), Washington State Patrol, Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine division, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, Lakewood Police Department, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Assistant United States Attorneys Zach Dillon, Max Shiner, and Jehiel Baer prosecuted the case.
