Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Spokane – Joseph H. Harrington, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Billy Lee Stevens, age 48, of Spokane, Washington, was sentenced for possessing heroin with the intent to distribute it and for possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian, who noted Stevens’ extensive criminal history, sentenced him to a 137-month term of imprisonment and a four-year term of court supervision following release from Federal prison.

According to information disclosed during court proceedings, law enforcement officers with the Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force (PNWVOTF) observed Stevens driving a pickup truck in the 1500 block of East Sharp Avenue in Spokane, Washington. The officers initiated a traffic stop of the truck because Stevens had an active felony warrant for his arrest – he has over 25 felony previous convictions. After the officers made contact with Stevens they sought judicial authorization by way of a warrant to search the vehicle. A judge issued the search warrant and the officers discovered over 228 grams of black tar heroin, along with cocaine and methamphetamine inside the truck. The officers also discovered a pistol-grip Remington shotgun and Derringer pistol next to the drugs. In the center console of the truck, officers located a Smith & Wesson 9mm pistol. They discovered a Walther PK380 pistol and a fully automatic Special Weapon MP5 machine gun in the bed of the truck.

Joseph H. Harrington said, “Prosecuting firearms-related crimes continues to be a priority for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington. Previously convicted felons should be aware that there are serious criminal penalties for possessing any firearm, but particularly a fully automatic firearm. This Office is committed to prosecuting aggressively firearm-related cases and violent crime occurring in this District.

”This case was investigated by the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, the Spokane Police Department Patrol Anti-Crime Team (PACT), the PNWVOTF, and the Spokane Resident Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). This case was prosecuted by Patrick J. Cashman, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.

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