Tri-Cities man sold thousands of fentanyl pills a month. Now he’s heading to prison
A Benton City man sold thousands of fentanyl pills from his fifth wheel and then was arrested after hitting, chasing and trying to shoot his girlfriend.
Federal agents started investigating Dwight Norwood Jr.’s fentanyl and methamphetamine distribution operation months before his girlfriend called Benton County Deputies to report she had been attacked.
His arrest led police to find hundreds more fentanyl pills, according to a release from the US Attorney’s Office of Eastern Washington.
Norwood, 27, pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl. US District Judge Edward Shea sentenced him to seven years in federal prison and five years of supervised released.
“Illicit fentanyl has a devastating impact on our community, including a close nexus with violent crime and poisoning deaths. Mr. Norwood was distributing a significant amount of these poison pills in the Tri-Cities region,” US Attorney Vanessa Waldref said in a release. “My office will continue to fight the fentanyl epidemic by working closely with our law enforcement partners to target those who contribute to this deadly crisis.”
Police knew who Norwood was even before they started investigating him in November 2021, said Gregory L. Austin, the acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle Field Office.
“His decision to distribute Fentanyl is now landing him in federal prison. Combating the scourge of this deadly drug, which devastates communities across our country, is a priority for the FBI and our partners,” Austin said in the release.
Investigation
The Southeast Washington Safe Street Task Force started looking into Norwood after two people came forward to say they were familiar with him trafficking large amounts of drugs, according to court documents.
One person told investigators that they bought 500 to 1,000 pills about every other day from Norwood, court documents said.
Investigators believe he sold between 7,500 and and 15,000 pills in a month, court documents said.
The witnesses both said he lived in a large and expensive fifth-wheel trailer in Benton City that was on Third Street.
While police continued to investigate Norwood, his girlfriend allegedly called Benton County sheriff’s deputies at 3 a.m. Feb. 24 to say that he had given her a black eye, was chasing her in a blue Mustang and trying to kill her, court documents said.
Along with the alleged attacks, investigators said he also had several warrants for his arrest.
Police found the Mustang parked outside of the Cougar Cafe gas station in Benton City about 4:15 a.m. After he was seen driving away, police tried to stop him a short distance away, but he ran away from the car.
A police dog was used to track him down and he was found hiding near his fifth wheel. Police found a “large quantity” of fentanyl pills and a semi-automatic pistol in the Mustang, according to court documents.
Between the trailer and the car, investigators discovered 850 fentanyl pills.
While he initially faced charges in connection with the attack and fleeing from police, Benton County prosecutors dismissed those charges without prejudice. This means they could be filed again.