A man dealing drugs in the Tri-Cities has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after investigators said they found thousands of child pornography images on his cell phone.
Lorenzo Jimenez Alanis, 47, of Mabton, Wash., was arrested Dec. 3, 2020, in Kennewick after a two-month investigation into his role in distributing methamphetamine.
A confidential source told the Drug Enforcement Agency that a co-defendant in the case, Luis Garcia-Blancas, of Kennewick, had offered to sell him meth for $4,600 a pound.
The DEA had the informant set up drug buys in Pasco, including in the parking lot of a grocery store, which helped them identify Alanis as being present to hand over meth to Garcia-Blancas, who handled the sales.
When Alanis was arrested, officials found four packages of methamphetamine in the GMC Yukon he was driving and MoneyGram receipts for more than $6,000. They also seized his cell phone.
At his home they found about 1.5 pound of suspected meth in a Tupperware container, two digital scales, 50 pounds of processed marijuana, 350 pounds of marijuana plants, a Colt 45 pistol and a Kel-Tec 22 long rifle pistol, plus ammunition.
During an examination of his cell phone, the DEA found child pornography, and a new investigation was opened that was headed by a detective of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Richland.
Both Stephanie Van Marter, an assistant U.S. attorney, and George Trejo, the defense attorney, agreed that there was a minimum of more than 600 images and videos of child pornography that had been received or saved on Alanis's phone over about 30 days in the summer of 2020.
Some included violent sexual abuse of children.
The prosecution put the total images of child pornography on the phone at 38,000, but Trejo said that included adult pornography, emojis, memes and a photo of actor Jason Momoa.
Alanis, who was brought to the Lower Yakima Valley from Mexico by his parents when he was 17, expects to be deported when he completes his prison term, according to court documents.
His attorney said there was no allegation that Alanis, a father of three, ever committed hands-on offenses.
U.S. Judge Salvador Mendoza Jr. sentenced Alanis to 10 years in prison for distributing 50 grams or more of meth and five years for possession of child pornography for a total of 15 years in prison.
"It is difficult to comprehend or catalog the wide scope of Mr. Alanis' criminal conduct," said Vanessa Waldref, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. "As though his large-scale methamphetamine dealing was not enough, he also downloaded and collected thousands of crime scene photos of minors being sexually abused — presumably demonstrating his sexual interest in children."
Garcia-Blancas is scheduled to be sentenced July 21 after pleading guilty to distribution of 50 grams or more of meth.
This case was investigated by agents and detectives with the DEA in Seattle and Tri-Cities, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Metro Drug Task Force in Tri-Cities, the Kennewick, Richland, West Richland, and Pasco police departments, Homeland Security and the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force in Richland.
