A felon who tossed a bag with more than 20,000 fentanyl pills as he ran from police across Highway 395 in Kennewick has been sentenced to 15 years and 10 months in federal prison.
Sharte Dashon Kimble, 32, was on probation when police caught him in 2023. He had been released from prison just months earlier for a probation violation on a sentence of possession of cocaine for distribution and having a gun.
In June 2023 a confidential informant working with law enforcement arranged to purchase $25,000 worth of fentanyl pills from Kimble.
The two planned to meet at the Walmart parking lot near Highway 395 in Kennewick, according to federal court documents.
After Kimble got out of a Mercedes holding a blue bag, multiple police cars surrounded him.
Kimble dropped his cell phone and ran to the west and across the highway, according to court documents.
After he was caught, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found the blue bag with 20,283 pills in a culvert.
A search warrant for Kimble's Mercedes turned up a loaded .38 caliber pistol that had been reported stolen, a loaded magazine, nearly $39,000 and more drugs — 1,100 fentanyl-laced pills and 3 ounces of cocaine.
Agents also found a receipt for a Yakima storage unit. There they found household goods Kimble had stored while he was in prison, plus two rifles, a pistol, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, a brick of cocaine and vials of pills.
"Our community is safer and stronger today because of Mr. Kimble's sentence," said Vanessa Waldref, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Washington after the sentencing hearing. "Despite a prior conviction on similar charges, Mr. Kimble was undeterred and continued to supply large quantities of deadly fentanyl and other illegal narcotics, all while possessing stolen firearms."
Rebecca Perez, assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern Washington District, said in a court document that Kimble had sold thousands of fentanyl pills in Montana, accusing him of sales "in multiple states and in high volume."
"Defendant's conduct demonstrates his willingness to do whatever he believes is necessary to avoid capture, and to continue his drug distribution business," Perez said. He was a felon by the age of 22.
His past convictions span the criminal code, Perez said.
They include violence, driving offenses, drug offenses, theft, false statements, eluding and prostitution, she said.
Kimble consistently fails to appear for court hearings and runs from police, she said.
"In sum, defendant has established a clear pattern of non-compliance and ongoing dangerous criminal behavior, regardless of the potential consequence or level of current supervision," she said.
Kimble's attorney, Jennifer Barnes, said in court documents that Kimble was convinced that as a felon with few marketable skills, drug trafficking was all that he could do to support his own drug habit and pay bills.
After his most recent release from prison, he relocated to Hermiston, Ore., but was unable to find a job. He has five children, the youngest age 2, and he needed to earn some money, Barnes said.
His addiction also worsened when the mother of two of his children died, his attorney said.
He followed the example of his own mother, who was an addict who sold drugs, Barnes said. She died when he was 9, leaving him without a stable home life for many years, according to court documents.
Barnes asked that Kimble's prison sentence be limited to 10 years.
Two of his children, his fiance, an uncle and Kimble spoke at his sentencing hearing in the Richland U.S. Courthouse. Other relatives sent U.S. Judge Edward Shea letters asking for leniency, as little time as reasonably possible away from his children and a chance for Kimble to rehabilitate himself.
Shea sentenced Kimble to 13 years and nine months in prison for his latest crime with an additional two years and one month for his probation violation.
"This sentence is clearly warranted based on Mr. Kimble's extensive and expansive illegal actions involving firearms and narcotics," said Jonathan Blais, ATF Seattle special agent in charge. "This was not the first time ATF has investigated Mr. Kimble."
___
(c)2024 Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Wash.)
Visit Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Wash.) at www.tri-cityherald.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
