A Seattle man, Phuong Nguyen Le, aged 50, has been sentenced to 90 months in prison for drug trafficking and carrying a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. This was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller following a hearing at the U.S. District Court in Seattle.
Le's arrest followed an incident in February 2023 when he fired shots from his car window in Seattle’s International District. At the time of his arrest, law enforcement found him with a loaded firearm and quantities of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine base. Judge John H. Chun commented during sentencing that Le's actions posed "serious risk to members of the community."
Acting U.S. Attorney Miller emphasized the collaboration between local and federal law enforcement agencies: “Local and federal law enforcement continue to work to increase safety in the International District. This case is a good example of our office working with the King County Prosecutors Office and the Seattle Police to take the cases where federal prosecution provides the most impact.”
The incident occurred on February 24, 2023, when police responded to reports of gunfire at an intersection in Seattle's Little Saigon neighborhood. Witnesses reported seeing a man firing from a white Mercedes. The vehicle was later located by officers with Le driving it.
Upon searching the vehicle, officers seized various items including firearms and significant quantities of drugs suspected for distribution:
- A Springfield Armory XD-9 9mm caliber pistol
- An additional magazine loaded with ammunition
- Spent bullet shell casings
- Approximately 83 grams of heroin
- Approximately 135 grams of cocaine
- Approximately 194 grams of suspected fentanyl powder
- Approximately 350 pills suspected to contain fentanyl
Prosecutors argued for a substantial sentence due to Le’s possession of controlled substances alongside firearms while discharging a weapon within a neighborhood.
Following his prison term, Le will undergo five years of supervised release.
Le has prior convictions; he was convicted for distributing cocaine base in April 2012 and sentenced again in September 2020 for illegal possession charges.
The investigation involved efforts from both the Seattle Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Brian Wynne is prosecuting this case.