Spokane man gets 20 years for running fentanyl pill press operation in Hillyard
A Spokane man has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for running a commercial pill press operation in Hillyard. He had enough fentanyl to make 2 million pills.
As part of a plea agreement, Nicholas B. Adams, 37, pleaded guilty in December to possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and unlawful use of a communications facility, according to court documents.
U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice then sentenced Adams on Wednesday to 20 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release.
Adams’ co-defendant, Timothy G. Maddox, was sentenced last year to 20 years in federal prison for his role.
According to court documents and information presented during the sentencing hearing, Adams and Maddox obtained a commercial pill press from China via the mail and set up the pill -press operation in the basement of Adams’ residence, mixing powder fentanyl and cutting agents to make their own fentanyl pills for bulk distribution into the community, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington.
Law enforcement searched multiple locations in November 2023 and seized a massive amount of fentanyl powder, cutting agents, pill -press parts, multiple firearms and an operational commercial pill press, the release said.
The DEA said the amount of fentanyl powder Maddox and Adams had on hand was enough to kill the entire population of Spokane County almost four times over.
In addition to their fentanyl pill production, Maddox and Adams had large quantities of methamphetamine, along with heroin, cocaine, MDMA and marijuana, prosecutors said.
“This 20-year sentence advances DEA’s unwavering commitment to a Fentanyl Free America,” said Robert A. Saccone, special agent in charge of the DEA’s Seattle field division. “By possessing massive amounts of fentanyl powder and operating a commercial pill press capable of producing more than 2 million potentially lethal fentanyl pills, the defendant was directly placing lives in Spokane County at risk.”
April Miller, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Seattle, called the case one of Eastern Washington’s largest fentanyl pill manufacturing cases.
“With both Adams and his co-conspirator Maddox now behind bars, HSI has safeguarded the community and reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the American people,” Miller said in the release. “By shutting down their makeshift lab in a residential community, HSI helped eliminate an operation capable of producing over two million deadly pills – saving countless lives and protecting families from harm.”