A Seattle man, Leon Henderson, 34, was convicted by a federal jury on multiple drug and firearm charges. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Henderson faced three counts of possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, two counts of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm.
Henderson was arrested by Seattle Police three times in 2023—in January, May, and September. Each arrest involved the seizure of more than one thousand fentanyl pills. On two occasions, he also had loaded firearms in his possession.
During the trial’s opening statement, Assistant United States Attorney Jin Kim said: “Leon Henderson on the streets in his car was essentially a mobile office, from which he was selling drugs.”
Court records and testimony showed that on January 25, 2023, police contacted Henderson while he sat in his car outside the Park Plaza Motel on Aurora Avenue. Officers found $2,770 cash on him and discovered about 600 grams of methamphetamine, 1,700 fentanyl pills, 200 grams of fentanyl powder, and a loaded pistol under the driver’s seat during a search. DNA evidence linked Henderson to both this pistol and another gun found with narcotics.
On May 5, 2023, police stopped Henderson in Capitol Hill and found around 7,000 fentanyl pills along with a firearm and cash.
The third arrest occurred on September 13, 2023 near a homeless encampment in Ballard. Police reported that Henderson had nearly 10,000 fentanyl pills in his backpack.
In closing arguments at trial Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Manca stated that during the Ballard arrest police saw people approaching Henderson’s car window to buy fentanyl pills “like he was selling coffee out of a drive-through.”
Henderson faces at least twenty years in prison: ten years for drug possession convictions plus an additional five years for each drug-related firearm conviction.
He was also convicted for illegal possession of firearms due to prior felony convictions for promoting prostitution and felony harassment.
The investigation involved the Seattle Police Department and FBI as part of efforts to address crime in North Aurora. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) assisted with the case.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica Manca, Jin Kim, and Carolyn Forstein prosecuted the case.
