Heroin supplier with cartel ties sentenced to 15 years in prison

EVERETT, Wash. — A former heroin supplier will spend up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking, money laundering and witness intimidation.

The Daily Herald reports 29-year-old James Painter was sentenced Friday. He was caught with over 4 pounds of heroin and arrested in 2014.

Painter also forfeited cash, cars and houses worth over $500,000.

The Snohomish Regional Drug and Gang Task Force's work with a confidential informant led to three house raids and several arrests. Authorities say Painter was tied to the Sinaloa Cartel.

Painter provided supplier Efrain Sepulveda with a car and rental house, where investigators found 19 pounds of heroin and over $350,000. Sepulveda agreed to testify against Painter and was sentenced to more than six years.

Lawyers had recommended an 11-year sentence for Painter.