SEATTLE — Federal prosecutors have expanded the case against a Kent family that is accused of running a large drug trafficking ring to distribute fentanyl across western Washington.
In a superseding indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle in December, the Department of Justice added nine defendants to the Jackson Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) case, as well as charges related to prostitution.
The case originated in 2022 when the FBI and DEA began looking into Marquis Jackson, the alleged ringleader of the organization. His mother, Marty Jackson, is a well-known community activist who ran the nonprofit group SE Network SafetyNet, which had been given lucrative contracts to provide violence interruption in Seattle Public Schools and the south Seattle community.
According to the charges, Marty Jackson laundered money for the DTO, which was led by Marquis, as well as her husband, Mandel Jackson.
According to the December indictment, 23 defendants face charges including conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit money laundering, distribution of a controlled substance, possession with intent to manufacture and distribute a controlled substance, and conspiracy to commit transportation for prostitution through coercion.
The initial 2024 indictment listed 14 defendants in the multi-state drug trafficking conspiracy, which investigators said moved fentanyl between Washington, Georgia, Missouri, Texas, and Arizona.
“Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized more than 846,000 fentanyl pills, nearly seven kilograms of fentanyl powder, seven kilograms of cocaine, and 29 firearms. They also seized more than $116,000 in cash,” a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington said.
In November, 44-year-old Michael Young Jr., of Tacoma, was sentenced to seven years in prison, marking the first guilty plea in the conspiracy case. Investigators said Young was a ‘high-level’ member of the group.
At Young’s sentencing, U.S. District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead noted the danger created by the drug trafficking conspiracy.
“Every pill you moved was a loaded gun – the sentence needs to hold you accountable for the lives you endangered,” Whitehead said.
The remaining defendants in the case have all pleaded not guilty. Some are being held in custody at the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac, while others are on pretrial release.