Mexican national who used 'compound' at homeless encampment pleads guilty

A 32-year-old Mexican citizen has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and firearms charges, the U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman said on Friday. Rigoberto Vasquez-Martinez has been in federal custody since his arrest on August 29, 2023, following a traffic stop near Brownsville, Oregon.

Vasquez-Martinez is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Evanson on June 11, 2024.

According to the plea agreement, Vasquez-Martinez resided in a fortified encampment known as the "Walmart encampment" in Bellingham. He confessed to having armed guards providing security around the main structure where he stayed. The encampment earned its name because it extends a half-mile east of Walmart.

Law enforcement responded to various incidents at the encampment and received information indicating Vasquez-Martinez's significant role as a drug supplier in the area. During an investigation, Vasquez-Martinez was stopped in Oregon, allegedly returning from California with a supply of drugs.

Upon searching his car, law enforcement discovered over seven kilos of fentanyl pills – totaling more than 65,000 pills. Vasquez-Martinez admitted he was on his way back to Western Washington to distribute the fentanyl. Additionally, $3,000 in cash and multiple cell phones were seized.

On the same day, law enforcement raided a storage unit in Lynnwood linked to Vasquez-Martinez’s wife, uncovering three kilos of fentanyl powder, 300 grams of methamphetamine, approximately 1.9 kilograms of heroin, a 9mm handgun, and $46,000 in cash. Vasquez-Martinez admitted that the 9mm handgun was used in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities, according to a Justice Department statement. 

On August 31, 2023, law enforcement conducted a search of the compound where Vasquez-Martinez had been living, seizing more than $4,000 in cash and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, along with a sawed-off shotgun.

Due to the quantity of drugs and possession of firearms, Vasquez-Martinez faces a mandatory minimum of ten years in prison. Both possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and attempted possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute are punishable by a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, up to 40 years. Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime is punishable by a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, to run consecutive to any other sentence imposed.

Both the prosecution and defense will recommend a ten-year sentence for Vasquez-Martinez. However, Judge Evanson is not bound by this recommendation and can impose any sentence allowed by law.

The case was investigated by the DEA and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amanda McDowell, with assistance from Oregon Assistant United States Attorney Peter Sax.