Spokane Feds Bust 21 Armed Meth Traffickers in Massive Takedown

SPOKANE, Wash. -- A joint federal task force dismantled a sprawling methamphetamine and fentanyl distribution ring plaguing downtown Spokane, indicting 21 armed suspects on dozens of drug and firearms charges. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington unsealed 15 indictments Thursday, capping a seven-month investigation launched in October 2024 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Agents targeted an 'open-air drug market' along Division Street, where traffickers with ties to Texas, Nevada, Montana and other states flooded Eastern Washington with poisons.

Seizures from the probe included just under 14 pounds of methamphetamine, over 1 kilogram of heroin, more than 16,000 fentanyl pills, 5.5 pounds of fentanyl powder, $60,000 in cash, four vehicles and 36 firearms. The U.S. filed a civil forfeiture action against a Spokane apartment complex near North Central High School, alleging it served as a hub for drug sales and gun handoffs. Named defendants include Andrew Vincent Auerbach, a prior felon charged with distributing over 50 grams of pure meth and illegal gun possession; Nathan Carlson Johnson, 44, facing similar meth distribution counts; James Lelacheur, 56; Christopher Wayne O’Neal, already jailed on separate charges; and Anthony Dale Williams, hit with multiple meth, cocaine and gun trafficking counts.

The operation drew agencies including the DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, Moses Lake Police, Border Patrol and Washington Department of Corrections. Several suspects face arraignments May 9, 2025, at Spokane's federal courthouse. This crackdown echoes past Eastern Washington busts, like the 2017 DEA-ATF sweep netting 20 arrests, eight pounds of meth and 75 guns across Spokane, Moses Lake and Mattawa.