Source: United States Department of Justice News
Spokane, Washington – Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced today that Tyrell Wade Nault, 22, of Havre, Montana was sentenced in federal court in Spokane for Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm. Chief United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian sentenced Nault to a total of 120 months in federal prison and ordered Nault to serve a three-year term of supervised release. Nault plead guilty on December 2, 2021.
According to court documents, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office arrested Nault and his girlfriend on May 29, 2020, as they were about to get into their car in a hotel parking lot in Spokane Valley, Washington. At the time of their arrest, both Nault and his girlfriend had outstanding arrest warrants related to criminal proceedings in Montana. During the arrest, the Spokane County Sherriff’s Office found $1,355 in U.S. currency and, a baggie of approximately 32 Oxycodone pills, and a loaded 9mm semiautomatic pistol on Nault’s person. Subsequent investigation revealed that the 9mm firearm was stolen. During a search of Nault’s vehicle, law enforcement found, among other things, a digital scale, additional U.S. currency, and several baggies containing at total of 81 grams of actual (pure) methamphetamine. At the time of Nault’s arrest, he had multiple prior felony convictions.
Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, commended the joint efforts of law enforcement for working together to keep the Spokane community safe: “These types of federal, state, and local partnerships, coupled with community engagement, are essential to prevent convicted felons from obtaining firearms and distributing poison in our communities.” U.S. Attorney Waldref continued, “Today’s sentence removes Mr. Nault from our community for 10 years, sending an important signal that the U.S. Attorney’s Office continues to vigorously prosecute those who distribute deadly narcotics in Eastern Washington.”
“Hopefully this lengthy sentence will give Mr. Nault the opportunity to think about the harm he has done to the community, and when released change his life for the better,” said ATF Seattle Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jonathan T. McPherson. “We will continue to investigate and arrest those who, like Mr. Nault, act in ways that are against the law and harmful to our communities and nation.”
This case was prosecuted under the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program. PSN is a federal, state, and local law enforcement collaboration to identify, investigate, and prosecute individuals responsible for violent crimes in our neighborhoods. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement to specifically identify the criminals responsible for violent crime in the Eastern District of Washington and pursue criminal prosecution.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force, and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Dominique Juliet Park, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.