A man from Grays Harbor County, Washington, has entered a guilty plea on two counts of possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In a recent release, Gabriel Armas is reported to face a statutory minimum of ten years to a potential life sentence after being charged in U.S. District Court in Tacoma. Notably, this isn’t the first time Armas has been enmeshed in drug-related legal woes; a 2015 conviction for trafficking in heroin and methamphetamine hangs over this current judgment.
The situation escalated when, on November 14, 2023, Armas was discovered unconscious behind the steering wheel in an Ocean Shores parking lot. Upon an officer’s attempt to investigate, he abruptly sped off, leading the authorities on a chase that was abruptly halted due to the potential risk involved. Armas’ flight took a particularly dramatic turn when he attempted to cross a pedestrian bridge in his vehicle, causing the structure to collapse. It didn’t take law enforcement long to recover narcotics, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, and personal items, including ID cards, abandoned in the vicinity, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller.
Additional trouble brewed just days later when Armas was discovered near the crash site. While he was detained for violating federal supervision, a tragic incident occurred in the Special Housing Unit of the Federal Detention Center. On the morning of November 20, the man sharing a cell with Armas was found dead. An autopsy attributed the cause of death to acute intoxication from a mix of heroin, olanzapine, and mirtazapine, suggesting a lethal overdose…