EVERETT — The first witness took the stand and James Painter folded.
Painter, 29, was accused of slinging drugs in Snohomish County for years. The Shoreline man was hauling more than four pounds of heroin in his Cadillac Escalade when he was arrested in 2014. Cops also found an additional 19 pounds in a Lynnwood stash house.
Painter was making up to $40,000 a week selling heroin, according to court papers. Prosecutors alleged that Painter’s supply came directly from Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel. The notorious cartel is behind thousands of vicious killings and kidnappings in a bloody battle to stay on top of the multibillion-dollar drug trade.
Two days into his trial earlier this month Painter leaned across the defense table and told Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Lisa Paul he was ready to plead guilty as charged.
Painter is expected to be sentenced later this week for drug trafficking, money laundering and witness intimidation.
Prosecutors agreed to recommend a nearly 11-year prison stint in exchange for Painter’s plea. The defendant admitted his criminal enterprise was particularly egregious because of how much dope he was peddling. That opens the door for Superior Court Judge Janice Ellis to exceed the 10-year maximum set by state sentencing guidelines.
Snitches have been feeding cops Painter’s name since at least 2010. He was known as a major drug dealer responsible for shoveling pounds of heroin into the community.
He also was a cautious dealer, who reportedly buried money, cut off customers if they were arrested and used stash houses in Lynnwood, miles away from his Shoreline house. Investigators believe he may have shut down operations at one point when he suspected the cops were getting close.
Detectives landed Painter in early 2014 after a month-long, intensive investigation that caught him selling heroin to a confidential informant working with the Snohomish Regional Drug and Gang Task Force.
Several others associated with the drug operation also were arrested. A Mexican national was apprehended in one of the Lynnwood houses that Painter rented. Efrain Sepulveda identified himself as the boss of the supply operation who made sure the heroin was sold and the proceeds sent to Mexico, court papers said. At the time of his arrest, Sepulveda was wanted on a federal drug charge. He had been deported after a 2012 drug arrest.
Sepulveda pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 6?1/2 years. He agreed to testify against Painter but declined to provide information about people higher up in the trafficking ring.
The defendant’s attorney tried to persuade a judge in November to toss Painter’s case, saying Painter’s right to a fair trial was violated because jailhouse phone calls between he and his previous lawyer were recorded.
Superior Court Judge Millie Judge denied the defense’s motion. She said there was no information disclosed on the calls that would have helped prosecutors and police.
Painter has previous drug convictions. He was sentenced to a year in prison in 2007 after he was caught on three separate occasions with methamphetamine.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.
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