Seattle - A Seattle-area man who was arrested for drug trafficking by multiple law enforcement agencies six times over a two-year period was sentenced this week in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Steven Eric Strauss, 56, was charged federally on May 5, 2022, with Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Possession of Controlled Substances with Intent to Distribute and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said Strauss “has the potential to return to what has been a life of crime…. I need to protect the community from that."
According to records filed in the case, between January 2020 and March 2022, Strauss was investigated and arrested for drug trafficking by multiple law enforcement agencies. Those arrests and seizures include:
* January 2020: Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office searched Strauss’ Everett residence after he sold narcotics to a person working with law enforcement. Seized methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, 9mm handgun and more than$14,000 in cash.
* March 2021: Washington State Patrol (WSP) stopped him in Seattle and seized methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, marijuana, a rifle, and more than $27,000 in cash.
* April 2021: Strauss sold heroin and methamphetamine to a person working with law enforcement. Bellevue Police searched his car and seized a stolen pistol and a second handgun, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, and more than $34,000 in cash.
* October 2021: Seattle Police arrested Strauss in a stolen travel trailer and seized two firearms, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, and more than $9,000 in currency.
* November 2021: Lynnwood Police arrested Strauss for having a stolen disabled parking placard in his car. He had a short barrel rifle, heroin, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and more than $31,000 in cash.
* March 2022: Seattle Police arrested Strauss after seeing him engage in hand-to-hand drug deals. From his car officers seized methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, two pistols, and more than $20,000 in cash.
In asking for the ten-year sentence, Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson noted that Strauss has failed to reform following state prison sentences. “The defendant’s prior encounters with the criminal system also failed to deter or dissuade him from selling drugs and carrying firearms. A review of the defendant’s criminal history establishes that from the age of eighteen, the defendant has been in a revolving door of crime commission to prison admission," AUSA Gregson wrote in her sentencing memo.
The case was investigated by the Washington State Patrol with assistance from the Seattle Police Department, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, Lynnwood Police, and Bellevue Police.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys