Seattle man sentenced 10 years for drug trafficking, armed with 'ghost gun'

SEATTLE - A Seattle man was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison for trafficking narcotics from a stolen car, and carrying a ‘ghost’ machine gun.

According to U.S. Attorney Nick Brown, 32-year-old Jade Irey was sentenced for unlawful possession of a machine gun, possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. He also faces state charges of burglary, identity theft, car theft and hit-and-run, with officials expect he will serve his state sentences with his federal ones.

Irey, described by the U.S. District Judge as a "one-person crime wave," first ended up on law enforcement radar in Dec. 2021, after reportedly dropping his cell phone while trying to escape after committing a burglary in Bellevue.

The resident of the house he broke into gave the cell phone to Bellevue Police, who tracked down Irey's residence in Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood.

Detectives followed Irey and an associate from the Magnolia home to several stops around the area. Authorities ran a check of the license plate and learned the car Irey was using was stolen.

Irey was arrested at an auto parts store in Kent, and in the car, police found a ‘ghost gun’ and a pouch of meth, black tar heroin and some 700 suspected fentanyl pills. Detectives then obtained a search warrant for Irey's electronic devices, where they found messages relating to drug sales and ownership of his gun.

Get breaking news alerts in the FREE FOX 13 Seattle app. Download for Apple iOS or Android. And sign up for BREAKING NEWS emails delivered straight to your inbox.

"Unregistered, fully automatic, and with an extended magazine, this weapon and others like it are designed for one thing: to kill," said Brown. "We are intent on using all the tools Congress has given us to combat possession of such illegal weapons and the damage they do in our communities."

Crime and Public Safety Seattle