Drug runner sentenced to nearly 6 years in federal prison

A 46-year-old drug runner who led Spokane Police on a car chase in 2020, was sentenced Thursday to nearly 6 years in federal prison.

Juan Pablo Carrillo-Nava was sentenced to 70 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

In 2020, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) learned that Carillo-Nava was a drug runner operating in Eastern Washington for a Mexican cartel.

The DEA planned to purchase meth from the organization as part of an investigation on August 13, 2020.

Carrillo-Nava didn’t show up, so agents went to a secondary location where the organization previously conducted drug deals; there, they spotted Carillo-Nava in a green Honda Accord.

Agents asked Spokane police to respond to do a traffic stop but instead of stopping Carrillo-Nava sped off.

Eventually, after driving 75 mph through a neighborhood, Carillo-Nava crashed into an oncoming vehicle, sending his car through a chain link fence into the front yard of a nearby home.

Carillo-Nava was arrested and police found more than $28,000 in cash in his car, along with nearly 2 pounds of heroin and more than a half-pound of meth.

The sentencing is a step toward keeping the community safer, said Vanessa Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.

“Mr. Carillo-Nava was engaged in both reckless behavior that was very dangerous for our community and connected to a large drug trafficking organization in Mexico,” Waldref said.

Waldref noted Carillo-Nava was bringing a large amount of drugs into the area and, when caught, continued to endanger the community by fleeing.

“We are really focused on individuals like this who are creating a lot of harm to our community,” Waldref said. “He’s now going to be serving a significant sentence.”