First defendant sentenced for role in drug ring linked to Lummi Nation deaths
A Tacoma man has been sentenced in federal court to seven years in prison for his role in a multi-state drug trafficking ring that led to the fatal overdoses of four members of the Lummi Nation within four days in 2023.
Michael Young Jr., 44, was a member of the Jackson Drug Trafficking Organization, which distributed fentanyl across multiple states, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington. Throughout the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized more than 846,000 fentanyl pills, nearly 7 kilograms of fentanyl powder, 7 kilograms of cocaine, 29 firearms and more than $116,000 in cash.
Twenty-two people were indicted in total, with five being members of the same south King County family. Young is the first defendant to be sentenced.
Linking Whatcom County to the organization
Investigators looking into the fatal overdoses of tribal members found connections to the Jackson Drug Trafficking Organization on one of the deceased’s phones. They also identified four Whatcom County drug traffickers linked by phone communication and surveillance to the Jackson drug trafficking organization.
All four men were arrested and charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute in October 2023. They are named as defendants in the larger federal case, and indicted on multiple charges related to drug possession and intent to distribute a controlled substance.
The men were identified as Robert Bellair of Ferndale, Ronald Finkbonner of Bellingham, Patrick James of Bellingham and Thomas Morris of Bellingham.
Morris has since died, and James and Finkbonner are participating in the Drug Reentry Alternative Model (DREAM) program. Program participants enter guilty pleas and have their sentences suspended while they complete a yearlong addiction treatment program. Successful completion of the program leads to dismissal of charges.
As of Nov. 13, Bellair had not yet been convicted or pleaded guilty to any charges.
It’s unclear from court records whether Young was directly involved in bringing drugs to Whatcom County. However, documents indicate he was involved in a large purchase of fentanyl pills for the trafficking ring and organized an unidentified network of drug traffickers. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances in July.
“Every pill you moved was a loaded gun,” U.S. District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead said at Young’s sentencing hearing. “The sentence needs to hold you accountable for the lives you endangered.”
This story was originally published November 20, 2025 at 3:56 PM.