Spokane-based, high-volume drug trafficker sentenced to 15 years in federal prison

A 38-year-old Spokane man who told investigators he sold an estimated $20,000 worth of illegal drugs per day over roughly a yearlong period was sentenced Monday by a U.S. District Court judge to federal prison.

Todd E. Bridges was sentenced to 180 months, or 15 years, of prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.

He pleaded guilty Nov. 16 to possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of pure methamphetamine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Eastern Washington.

The charges stem from an investigation last summer by the Spokane Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration into Bridges’ distribution of fentanyl, heroin and meth.

Prosecutors said authorities conducted a controlled buy of fentanyl- laced pills in June and found a quantity of the pills after executing a search warrant at a hotel room where Bridges was staying. Bridges, however, was not in the hotel at the time, prosecutors said.

Later that month, Bridges was taken into custody after attempting to flee officers during a traffic stop, according to prosecutors. Authorities said investigators found 12 ounces of meth in his vehicle along with fentanyl-laced pills.

Meanwhile, Bridges told investigators he sold an estimated $20,000 worth of meth, heroin and fentanyl-laced pills per day in the year, roughly, since he was released on a previous 116-month state prison sentence.

Bridges was indicted in federal court after posting bond on the state charges stemming from his June arrest, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors said he was in possession of several additional ounces of meth at the time of his arrest on the federal charges.

“It is clear that this defendant contributed to the fentanyl epidemic in the Eastern Washington Region,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino said in a statement.

“This career criminal and drug trafficker will no longer have the freedom to recklessly distribute the poison that continues to flow through our city streets, even during the pandemic.”