Seattle, WA. — A 37-year-old man living in Des Moines, Washington, was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Seattle to six years in prison and three years of supervised release for drug trafficking and firearms offenses.
Dennis Aguilar Huisa received the sentence from U.S. District Judge John C. Chun after pleading guilty to possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and money laundering. He has been in custody since Nov. 1, 2024, following his third arrest in 15 months involving drugs and a firearm.
At sentencing, Judge Chun described fentanyl as “so dangerous and has destroyed so many lives,” adding that Huisa “must have known that he was putting himself and his family at risk.”
According to court records, officers with the Puyallup Police Department first contacted Huisa on Aug. 15, 2023, after finding him parked on the roadside with a vehicle displaying mismatched license plates. A search of the impounded vehicle uncovered roughly 1,000 fentanyl pills, suspected fentanyl powder and a scale with drug residue.
More than a year later, on Sept. 7, 2024, Puyallup police responded to a report of a nine-month-old infant who had stopped breathing. Huisa and a woman met officers outside a box truck holding the child. Authorities later determined Huisa had administered Narcan twice, suspecting fentanyl exposure. Officers located about 115 fentanyl pills in the truck and found fentanyl powder and more than $16,000 in cash on Huisa.
The child was transported to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, where additional Narcan doses were given. The infant tested positive for fentanyl, amphetamine and oxycodone but survived.
On Nov. 1, 2024, the Auburn Police Department Special Investigations Unit executed a search warrant at a Des Moines motel where Huisa had been staying. Officers reported finding fentanyl powder packaged for sale, methamphetamine and cocaine. They also recovered two kilograms of fentanyl powder and a Polymer 80 “ghost gun” — a firearm assembled without a serial number — from the box truck Huisa had been driving.
A financial investigation by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation determined Huisa deposited approximately $370,000 in cash into his bank account between July 2022 and September 2024, funds prosecutors said were proceeds of drug trafficking.
Federal prosecutors, led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle, had sought an eight-and-a-half-year sentence, arguing Huisa continued dealing drugs even after his child’s overdose.
In court, Huisa said he was “very ashamed” and told the judge he could not forgive himself for what he had done to his daughter.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Puyallup and Auburn police departments, and IRS Criminal Investigation. Huisa is expected to face deportation to Honduras following completion of his prison sentence.
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