A former resident of Rhode Island, Texas, and Chicago was sentenced on July 17 in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 15 years in prison for three federal felonies related to a 2021 attempt to smuggle large quantities of drugs across the Washington State–Canada border by watercraft. John Michael Sherwood, age 69, was convicted in April following a six-day trial of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute, and conspiracy to commit international money laundering.
At sentencing, Judge Richard A. Jones said, “What you did came across as a mad man desperate for money, willing to do anything. At the end of the day what you were doing would cause tremendous harm to thousands of individuals.”
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said, “The eight large duffel bags of methamphetamine found on the beach near Port Angeles are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this defendant’s drug smuggling. Evidence uncovered in the case show he made multiple drug runs to the Washington/British Columbia border to connect with his coconspirator in Canada. Over five decades he racked up five federal felonies. This 15-year sentence is the result of his persistent and entrenched criminal behavior.”
W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office, said: “A family’s shocking discovery of drugs at the beach exemplified the brazenness of Mr. Sherwood’s multiple plans to smuggle huge quantities of drugs into Canada, part of a career of criminality spanning state lines, international borders, and several decades… The FBI and our many federal, state, local, and international law enforcement partners are committed to holding subjects accountable and will continue to do so…”
According to testimony at trial, Sherwood transported about 300 pounds of methamphetamine and nearly one kilogram of fentanyl powder from southern California up through Washington’s Olympic Peninsula with plans—using a jet ski and inflatable raft—to move them across the Strait toward Vancouver Island contacts; these attempts failed when law enforcement discovered eight duffel bags containing over 300 pounds combined methamphetamine and fentanyl powder along beaches near Port Angeles.
Assistant United States Attorney Vince Lombardi told jurors that Sherwood’s group were transporters: “They are the FedEx or UPS of the drug trafficking crew.” Evidence included Walmart surveillance showing Sherwood purchasing duffel bags with his debit card; rental records linking him via U-Haul vans; motel registration; storage locker documents; and phone records connecting him with Canadian co-conspirators.
This was Sherwood’s second conviction after alleged misconduct by a government witness led previously to retrial before another judge.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including FBI Seattle field office personnel as well as Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Border Patrol units (including Air & Marine), U.S Coast Guard staffers alongside Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) counterparts—and regional teams such as Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team (OPNET). The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office (Idaho), Montana Highway Patrol & Livingston Montana Police Department also contributed.
This case is part of Homeland Security Task Force initiatives established under Executive Order 14159 aimed at eliminating transnational criminal organizations operating within or against United States interests through coordinated interagency efforts led locally by HSTF Seattle agents/officers—including representatives from HSI; FBI; DEA; ATF; US Marshals Service; Postal Inspection Service; IRS-Criminal Investigations division; Secret Service; Customs & Border Protection plus Coast Guard Investigative Service—with prosecution handled by attorneys from United States Attorney’s Office for Western District Of Washington.
The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington promotes community safety through programs addressing gun violence and online threats while handling federal prosecutions and civil litigation throughout areas including Seattle and Tacoma using offices located there as part of the U.S Department of Justice—staffed by approximately eighty-five attorneys supported by seventy additional personnel—according to the official website.