By Debbie Cockrell
The Peninsula Gateway (Gig Harbor, Wash.)
TACOMA, Wash. — A Pierce County man described as a “high-volume” drug redistributor for the leader of a drug distribution ring tied to white supremacist prison gangs was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.
Gregory Beers, 32, of Edgewood, received a total of 12.5 years in prison from U.S. District Court Judge David G. Estudillo.
“This is a very serious crime,” Estudillo said at sentencing, according to a news release from the Acting U.S. Attorney’s Office. “It involved thousands and thousands of fentanyl pills, which wreak havoc on our community. There are people literally dying from these drugs and it leaves a wake of destruction for those who survive.”
According to federal prosecutors, Beers was a high-volume drug redistributor for Jesse James Bailey, the leader of one of three branches of the drug distribution organizations tied to two Aryan prison gangs.
On March 22, 2023, law enforcement made two dozen arrests on federal charges. Law enforcement seized 177 firearms, more than 10 kilos of methamphetamine, 11 kilos of fentanyl pills and more than a kilo of fentanyl powder, three kilos of heroin, and over $330,000 in cash from 18 locations in Washington and Arizona.
“Earlier in the investigation, law enforcement seized 830,000 fentanyl pills, 5.5 pounds of fentanyl powder, 223 pounds of methamphetamine, 3.5 pounds of heroin, 5 pounds of cocaine, $388,000 in cash, and 48 firearms,” the release noted.
Prosecutors say Beers fled his residence on March 23 , leaving behind drugs, cash, body armor and firearms. Law enforcement said that the residence contained heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine and detailed drug ledgers. Police also found guns as well as bullet-proof vests in two of the bedrooms, digital scales, ammunition and nearly $5,000 in cash.
Inside Beers’ Mercedes, agents found more weapons and ammunition, as well as two Kevlar ballistic vests, and small bags of heroin and fentanyl powder. The trunk held another handgun and a bag of bullets, law enforcement said.
Beers was arrested on April 11, 2023, after being found living in an RV parked at a Tacoma home and dealing narcotics, according to prosecutors.
“Even after seeing that his co-conspirators were arrested and knowing that he too was sought by police, Gregory Beers continued his drug trafficking, arming himself with guns,” Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller said in a statement. “He was arrested with two firearms, $7,000 in cash and some $36,000 worth of jewelry that he would wear around his neck — all proceeds of drug trafficking.”
In asking the court for the 12.5-year prison term, prosecutors noted that Beers was blatant about his drug dealing.
“Beers flaunted his drug trafficking and illegal firearm possession, sending videos of his firearms and drug proceeds to ( Department of Corrections ) inmates,” prosecutors wrote to the court. “All of this was done for the purpose of his own personal enrichment, including his purchase of expensive jewelry.”
According to Friday’s release, three connected drug rings in the case were identified over an 18-month wiretap investigation. The three distribution rings were working together as the Aryan Family/Omerta Drug Trafficking Organization, the release stated, one of which was led by Beers’ co-defendant Jesse Bailey .
Bailey has pleaded guilty and is scheduled for sentencing on July 2, the release added.
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