Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News
Tacoma – Two men indicted in March 2023 as part of a drug distribution organization associated with an Aryan prison gang pleaded guilty to drug and gun crimes today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Ronald McComb, 59, of Ridgefield, Washington, and Gregory Beers, 31, of Edgewood, Washington, will be sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo in September 2024.
McComb pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and felon in possession of a firearm. The drug charge carries a mandatory minimum ten years in prison because of the amount of narcotics involved in the case. In a detailed plea agreement, McComb acknowledged multiple recorded phone calls with coconspirators in which he discussed his drug trafficking activities involving distributing multi-pound quantities of methamphetamine and tens of thousands of fentanyl pills and creating a distribution network of fentanyl pills up to Alaska. He further admitted to possessing large quantities of heroin and a 9mm handgun that law enforcement seized from the trunk of his vehicle following a traffic stop in February 2022. Law enforcement eventually arrested him on March 22, 2023. On that date, authorities found methamphetamine, heroin, three firearms, and large quantities of cash and gold bars in McComb’s Kalama residence. As part of the plea, McComb stipulated to the forfeiture of that cash and gold as proceeds of his drug trafficking. McComb was prohibited from possessing firearms due to his felony convictions for assault and robbery in Clark County and another assault conviction in Cowlitz County.
Gregory Beers pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Beers admitted in his plea agreement that he sent video messages to inmates in the Washington State Department of Corrections showing multiple high-powered firearms in his possession and large quantities of cash and gold he earned through his drug trafficking. The plea agreement detailed multiple calls in which Beers discussed his drug trafficking activities involving distribution of tens of thousands of fentanyl pills and multi-pound quantities of methamphetamine.
When police attempted to arrest Beers on the day of the takedown, he tossed a loaded pistol and fled over a neighbor’s fence. Police found two firearms in his residence and seven more in his car along with illegal drugs, cash, and drug ledgers. Ultimately Beers was arrested living in an RV in Tacoma. Once again, he was armed with guns and possessed large quantities of cash and expensive jewelry that he admitted as part of the plea agreement were proceeds from his drug trafficking.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed to jointly recommend 13 years in prison for McComb and 12 and a half years (150 months) in prison for Beers. Chief Judge Estudillo is not bound by the agreed sentences and can impose any sentence allowed by law.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
This investigation was led by the FBI with critical investigative teamwork from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Washington State Department of Corrections and significant local assistance from the Tacoma Police Department, Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, and the Thurston County Narcotics Task Force, led by the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office. Throughout this investigation the following agencies assisted the primary investigators: Washington State Patrol, Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, Lakewood Police Department, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Zach Dillon and Max Shiner.