SPOKANE, Wash. — A man from Spokane was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison Tuesday on firearm and drug trafficking charges, U.S. Attorney Pete Serrano announced.
Charles Michael McClain, 40, was found guilty May 6, following a jury trial. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial and sentencing, in early 2024, the Quad Cities Drug Task Force learned McClain was supplying illegal drugs, including fentanyl pills, fentanyl powder and meth, to dealers in the Clarkston area.
On May 6, 2024, agents executed a search warrant at McClain’s apartment on Riverton Avenue in Spokane. Investigators found drugs, baggies, meth, fentanyl powder, 359 fentanyl pills and a gun under McClain’s pillow and about $18,000 in cash.
On scene, McClain told agents he had purchased about 10,000 fentanyl pills and 10 ounces of fentanyl powder every month for roughly a year. On the day of the warrant execution, McClain planned to make another purchase using some of the cash found in his apartment, according to prosecutors.
McClain had previously been convicted in Washington state court of delivery of a controlled substance and sentenced to 84 months in state custody.
“Deadly drugs claim more victims every day, including here in Eastern Washington,” Serrano said. “We are prioritizing the prosecution of these cases and working with our law enforcement partners to vigorously disrupt the sources of drugs in our communities, keeping these dangerous substances out of the hands of drug traffickers and out of our communities.”
