Source: Office of United States Attorneys
POCATELLO – Walker Dean Cates, 39, of Fort Hall, was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, Acting U.S. Attorney Justin Whatcott announced today.
According to court records, Cates sold methamphetamine and fentanyl to an individual on three occasions at his residence at Fort Hall. On April 11, 2024, Cates sold 3.58 grams of methamphetamine. On July 22, 2024, Cates and his co-defendant, Mariah Dawn Russell, sold 10.92 grams of fentanyl. On August 21, 2024, Cates and co-defendant Russell sold 505.7 grams of fentanyl.
On October 9, 2024, officers traveled to Cates home to arrest him pursuant to the federal arrest warrant. Cates fled from police officers in his vehicle at a high rate of speed. Officers from multiple law enforcement agencies pursued Cates through the residential area and the backroads of Fort Hall. Officers subsequently arrested Cates after he crashed his vehicle in a rural area of Fort Hall.
Cates was held accountable for a total of 516.62 grams of fentanyl and 3.58 grams of methamphetamine that he sold to the individual.
Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Cates to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Cates pleaded guilty to the charge in February 2025. On December 16, 2024, codefendant Russell pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl. Russell is scheduled for sentencing on July 17, 2025.
Acting U.S. Attorney Whatcott commended the work of the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, the Fort Hall Police Department and the BADGES Task Force, which is a HIDTA-funded task force that includes the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pocatello Police Department, the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, the Idaho State Police, and the Chubbuck Police Department. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoie Laggis prosecuted this case.
These cases were investigated through the Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program. HIDTA is an Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) sponsored counterdrug grant program that coordinates with and provides funding resources to multiagency drug enforcement initiatives, including the BADGES Task Force.
The BADGES Task Force is a collaboration of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies that focuses primarily on drug trafficking in Bannock County and throughout the region.
This case was handled by the U.S. Attorney Office’s specially deputized Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA), funded by the Eastern Idaho Partnership (EIP) and the State of Idaho. The EIP is a coalition of local city and county officials in eastern Idaho as well as the Idaho Department of Correction.
The EIP SAUSA program allows law enforcement to utilize the federal criminal justice system – through the EIP SAUSA – to prosecute, convict, and sentence violent, armed criminals and drug traffickers. These criminals often receive stiffer penalties than they might in state courts.
This program was created in January 2016. Since that time, approximately 200 defendants have been indicted by the EIP SAUSA. Of these defendants, 175 have been indicted on drug trafficking charges. The defendants indicted under the program have been sentenced to 11,144 months (approximately 928.66 years) in federal prison, representing an average prison sentence of 77.4 months (6.45 years). Defendants indicted for drug trafficking offenses serve, on average, approximately 64.19 months (5.35 years) in federal prison.
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