Walker Dean Cates, a 39-year-old resident of Fort Hall, has been sentenced to 84 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl. This was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Justin Whatcott.
Court records reveal that Cates sold methamphetamine and fentanyl on three separate occasions at his residence in Fort Hall. On April 11, 2024, he sold 3.58 grams of methamphetamine. Later, on July 22, 2024, Cates and co-defendant Mariah Dawn Russell sold 10.92 grams of fentanyl. The pair again collaborated on August 21, 2024, selling a substantial amount of fentanyl totaling 505.7 grams.
On October 9, 2024, law enforcement officers attempted to arrest Cates with a federal warrant at his home. He fled in his vehicle at high speed but was eventually apprehended after crashing in a rural area of Fort Hall.
Cates is held accountable for distributing a total of 516.62 grams of fentanyl and 3.58 grams of methamphetamine. In addition to the prison term, Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ordered Cates to serve three years of supervised release following his sentence.
Cates pleaded guilty to the charges in February 2025. His co-defendant Russell also pleaded guilty on December 16, 2024, and is scheduled for sentencing on July 17, 2025.
Acting U.S. Attorney Whatcott praised the efforts of various law enforcement agencies involved in the case including the U.S. Marshals Service, Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Hall Police Department and the BADGES Task Force—a HIDTA-funded task force that comprises several agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration and Pocatello Police Department.
The investigation was conducted under the Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program which supports multiagency drug enforcement initiatives like the BADGES Task Force focusing on drug trafficking in Bannock County and beyond.
This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoie Laggis through a program funded by the Eastern Idaho Partnership (EIP) and State of Idaho which allows local law enforcement to utilize federal resources for prosecuting violent criminals and drug traffickers who often face harsher penalties than those imposed by state courts.
Since its inception in January 2016, approximately 200 defendants have been indicted under this program with an average sentence length of over six years for drug trafficking offenses.
