DOJ: Washington man with enough fentanyl for 470,000 lethal doses gets 11 years in prison

A judge sentenced a Renton, Washington man to 11 years in prison for drug and gun crimes, including distribution of the equivalent of 470,000 lethal doses.

David Christopher Pitts, 44, was arrested in Dec. 2021 after an undercover drug trafficking investigation.

According to court records, police obtained a search warrant and in one bedroom found multiple guns, and a case containing methamphetamine, fentanyl and Xanas bars. In a safe, investigators found heroin, cocaine, suboxone, ketamine, fentanyl pills, and medical grade fentanyl, and more than $55,000 in cash.

In another bedroom, investigators said they found fifteen handguns, four semiautomatic assault rifles, two bolt action rifles, and a 12-guage shotgun.

"Look at all the people you see in our city clutching foil and a straw. You are feeding their addiction every day," said U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones. "They can’t pay their rent, they can’t feed their children. They may have an addiction because of what you put into the community. I want you to develop a conscience beyond the money you put in your pocket."

Pitts was prohibited from being in possession of guns becauseof two previous state convictions for possessing firearms while dealing drugs.

"Looking just at his fentanyl powder and pills, the defendant intended to enrich himself by distributing more than 470,000 lethal doses,"said Assistant United States Attorney Erin H. Becker. "Worse, many of the doses were disguised as pharmaceutical pills that would not put the user on notice that he was ingesting such a potentially dangerous substance. In addition, the defendant possessed 25 firearms. Several of these guns were loaded, at least one was stolen, two had extended magazines, [and] all of them were possessed to facilitate his drug trafficking."