Man convicted of Spokane Valley murder sentenced to 30 years in prison for separate drug trafficking operation

A 33-year-old man already convicted of a Spokane Valley murder was sentenced Monday to 30 years in federal prison for running a drug trafficking operation while jailed for the murder charge, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Eastern Washington.

The state and federal sentences will run at the same time, according to Rob Curry, spokesman for the attorney’s office.

Besides Alexandro Aguilar’s 30-year prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Mary K. Dimke sentenced Kassandra M. Montelongo, 27, and Luis Lara, 25, to 10 years in prison on drug trafficking charges, according to an attorney’s office news release.

Aguilar was sentenced in 2023 for shooting into a crowded Spokane Valley bar, Ichabod’s East, killing his friend, 42-year-old Daniel Martinez, and injuring three others in 2021, according to previous Spokesman-Review reporting. That sentence was for 23 years.

Aguilar and Martinez got into a fight with some other men at the bar. Aguilar then got a gun from his car and returned to shoot at one of the men involved in the fight. He ended up shooting the man, the man’s brother, a woman and Martinez.

Spokane County Sheriff’s Office deputies found that Aguilar regularly communicated from the Spokane County Jail – where he was jailed for the shooting incident – with Montelongo, who was acting as his agent for the drug trafficking operation on the outside, according to the release. Investigators learned that Lara and another man, Jose Garcia, were also involved in the operation.

In December 2022 and January 2023, agents conducted several controlled drug purchases in Spokane Valley from Aguilar’s drug operation, totaling 7,700 fentanyl pills and more than 7 pounds of methamphetamine. Federal law enforcement also obtained cocaine through the controlled purchases, the release said.

In June 2023, federal agents searched Montelongo’s home in Sunnyside, Washington, about 35 miles southeast of Yakima. Agents discovered about 11 pounds of methamphetamine, a small scale and plastic bags. They also located guns, ammunition and cash.

Garcia was sentenced earlier this year to 10 years in prison for meth distribution.

“Drug trafficking continues to devastate families and communities across Eastern Washington, especially in our most vulnerable and underserved areas,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rich Barker said in the release. “Our office will continue to pursue those who profit of off addiction and violence, and we will continue to support law enforcement efforts to stop the flow of deadly narcotics like fentanyl and protect the people we serve.”