Drug traffickers with ties to WA Aryan prison gang sentenced

TACOMA, Wash. - The second member of a two-man narcotics distribution ring with ties to an Aryan prison gang was sentenced Tuesday.

The U.S. District Court in Tacoma announced that 37-year-old Dustin Wurges was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the drug crew. Wurges and accomplice Jonathan Mayhall were arrested on Nov. 8 2021, following a federal investigation.

According to court records, Wurges and Mayhall were identified following a related investigation into an Aryan prison gang that trafficked drugs in the Puget Sound area. The two set up a drug deal with contacts in Southern California, budgeting $250,000 to buy drugs for distribution in western Washington. On their way back, investigators monitored them, then arrested the two at a rest area in Thurston County.

At the time of their arrest, law enforcement seized several kilograms of fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, two guns, three sets of body armor and more than $87,000 in cash. A woman who was riding with them also had her firearm seized.

"Fentanyl has become a plague in this community and across the country," said U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle. "We know it has fatal consequences. The quantities that you brought here could well have contained a dose that would have caused someone to die."

Wurges pleaded guilty to his charges in Oct. 2023. Mayhall was sentenced to 10 years in prison on March 4, 2024.

Following his sentence, Wurges will remain under five years of supervised release.