A 69-year-old man from the United States has been sentenced to 15 years in a US federal prison after attempting to smuggle hundreds of pounds of drugs across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Vancouver Island.
John Michael Sherwood was sentenced in US District Court in Seattle on Friday, July 17th, for three felony charges connected to the failed 2021 smuggling operation.
Sherwood was convicted following a six-day trial in April of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute and conspiracy to commit international money laundering.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, Sherwood transported approximately 300 pounds of methamphetamine and nearly one kilogram of fentanyl powder from southern California to Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.
Prosecutors said he planned to use a jet ski and an inflatable raft to move the drugs across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to an associate on the coast of Vancouver Island.
However, the smuggling attempts failed and the drugs began washing up along beaches near Port Angeles.
On April 7th, 2021, a family discovered a partially submerged duffel bag on a beach near Port Angeles and contacted police.
Investigators found more than 50 pounds of methamphetamine and two pounds of fentanyl powder inside the bag.
Around the same time, another beachcomber discovered a partially submerged and deflated Zodiac-style raft nearby. The person also reported seeing a U-Haul van travelling to and from the beach area.
Four days later, another beach walker found seven additional duffel bags hidden beneath a bridge near the beach. Those bags contained another 252 pounds of methamphetamine.
The drugs had an estimated wholesale value of approximately $1.5 million in Canada, according to US prosecutors.
Investigators traced the duffel bags to a Walmart purchase made using Sherwood’s debit card. Surveillance footage also showed him purchasing the bags.
U-Haul rental documents, motel registrations and storage locker records further connected Sherwood to the operation, while phone records revealed communications with a co-conspirator in Canada about moving the drugs across the Strait.
Prosecutors told the jury that Sherwood and his associates acted as transporters for the drug trafficking operation.
“They are the FedEx or the UPS of the drug trafficking crew,” Vince Lombardi, Assistant US Attorney, said during closing arguments.
During sentencing, US District Judge Richard A. Jones said Sherwood’s actions could have caused “tremendous harm to thousands of individuals.”
This was the second time Sherwood was convicted in connection with the smuggling attempt. His first conviction was set aside after the prosecution learned of alleged misconduct involving a government witness, resulting in a new trial before a different judge.
The investigation involved several American agencies as well as the RCMP, US Coast Guard, US Border Patrol and the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team.
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