Auburn Felon Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for Dealing Drugs, Selling Guns

An Auburn resident who sold multiple guns and methamphetamine to a person working undercover with law enforcement was sentenced to 7 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release through the U.S. District Court, according to a press release from the U.S. State Attorney's office.

32-year-old Joshua Fuller was arrested in a South Seattle parking lot in December 2011. He was armed with a loaded .40 caliber Glock handgun. Fuller had previously sold an ER Amantino 12-gauge shotgun, an SKS 7.62 caliber assault rifle and a .32 caliber Ruger LCP handgun. 

At sentencing U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said, “We have a serious problem with weapons in this country that is not helped by a convicted felon selling guns.”

According to records filed in the case, in early November 2011, a person working with law enforcement purchased meth and two firearms from Fuller at his home in Auburn. The guns were an ER Amantino 12-gauge shotgun and SKS 7.62 caliber assault rifle. The SKS rifle came with an extended magazine, capable of holding up to 30 rounds of ammunition.

In early December 2011, the person working with law enforcement went to Fuller’s home and purchased approximately 7.7 grams of methamphetamine, a .32 caliber Ruger LCP handgun and a hand grenade body (an inert device). Fuller told the person that the hand grenade simply needed to be filled with an explosive to be used. On December 16, 2011, Fuller was arrested by Seattle police with the loaded Glock .40 caliber firearm – the weapon had been reported stolen. 

Fuller is prohibited from possessing any firearms because of convictions for assault. In fact, since the age of 14, Fuller has been convicted of 23 different crimes.

In asking for a lengthy sentence, prosecutors wrote to the court that Fuller “was in the business of distributing both deadly drugs and dangerous weapons throughout the greater Seattle area. He quite literally made his living by profiting off of other people’s drug addictions and by fostering an increasingly dangerous environment for everyone he associated with and lived near. There are perhaps no greater instruments of destruction in our community today than the drugs [Fuller] sold and the guns he helped spread unlawfully. A long sentence is necessary to reflect this reality.”

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) and the Seattle Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas Brown.

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Editor's Note: This is a press release from the U.S. State Attorney's office.