A 37-year-old man arrested twice by Puyallup police officers is facing multiple federal charges related to drugs, firearms possession and money laundering.
Dennis Aguilar Huisa, who had been living at a hotel in a Des Moines, Washington, has been charged with four counts of possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, one count of money laundering, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense in U.S. District Court in Seattle, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office news release.
Court records show he pleaded not guilty at arraignment Thursday.
Huisa was first arrested by Puyallup police on Aug. 15, 2023, after he was found stopped on the side of the road with around 1,000 fentanyl pills in his car, the release alleges.
Later, on Sept. 7, 2024, Puyallup police arrested Huisa a second time after they responded to a report of a 9-month-old infant who was unresponsive — the child’s blood later tested positive for fentanyl, amphetamine and oxycodone at the hospital, the release said.
“The child survived and was temporarily released to Child Protective Services,” the release said.
Police searched Huisa and his truck, and they allegedly found fentanyl powder, 115 fentanyl pills and $16,000 cash.
Then officers from multiple agencies served a search warrant at his motel room on Nov. 1 in Des Moines and allegedly found packets of fentanyl powder packaged for sale, methamphetamine and cocaine, and 2 kilograms of fentanyl powder and an illegal gun in his truck.
He’s remained in state custody since then, but was federally charged on March 12 and indicted by a grand jury on March 26, after which he was moved into federal custody on Thursday.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute are punishable by a minimum of five and ten years in prison, respectively, and a maximum of life in prison. Money laundering is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison, according to the Attorney’s Office.
Defense attorney Peter Camiel was appointed Thursday to represent Huisa; The News Tribune reached Camiel by phone on Friday, and he said he had no comment about the case at this time.
© 2025 The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.). Visit www.TheNewsTribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
