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Cocaine Wholesaler Gets 10 Years In Doughboy Case

Bill Morlin Staff Writer

A cocaine wholesaler who supplied $50,000 in cocaine a week to a major dealer in Spokane was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison.

Raymond Armijo will begin serving that sentence after he completes a five-year term for a 1990 conviction for involvement in another drug distribution ring.

U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle rejected arguments of Armijo’s attorney, Richard Kayne, and ordered that the two sentences be served consecutively.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Rice said Armijo, who lived in Pasco, was the major supplier of cocaine to Clarence “Cip” Paulsen III of Spokane.

In late 1993, Paulsen’s drug courier, Marc Wimberley, was picking up two kilograms of cocaine a week from Armijo. Paulsen, in turn, was distributing the drug to dealers and users in the Spokane area.

A kilogram of cocaine weighs 2.2 pounds and usually sells for about $25,000.

Armijo was indicted in 1989 for selling a kilo of cocaine to another man. He was convicted by a federal court jury in June 1990.

While out of jail on an appeal bond in 1993, Armijo continued selling kilos of cocaine and eventually became Paulsen’s supplier, Rice said.

In April 1994, Armijo lost his legal appeal of his 1990 conviction and had to surrender to authorities.

He was in a federal prison last August when Paulsen and others identified in Operation Doughboy were indicted and arrested.

Because of his previous drug conviction, Armijo could have had his minimum, mandatory term of 10 years in prison doubled to 20 years.

But federal prosecutors agreed not to seek the enhanced sentence in exchange to Armijo’s guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

In a related case Wednesday, Jack N. Divine Jr., 31, of Spokane, was placed on one year of probation and fined $1,000 for misdemeanor possession of cocaine.

During probation, Divine must submit to random drug testing and searches, and counseling.

MEMO: CORRECTION:(from story “Doughboy dealer sentenced,” April 7, 1995): Raymond Armijo’s cousin, Victor Armijo, was incorrectly identified in a story in Thursday’s edition of The Spokesman-Review. Victor Armijo, 21, of Pasco, was sentenced to 10 years Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle.

CORRECTION:(from story “Doughboy dealer sentenced,” April 7, 1995): Raymond Armijo’s cousin, Victor Armijo, was incorrectly identified in a story in Thursday’s edition of The Spokesman-Review. Victor Armijo, 21, of Pasco, was sentenced to 10 years Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Fred Van Sickle.