Moses Lake Man Get 35 Year Federal Sentence in Drug Raid Where He Shot at ATF Agents

A Moses Lake man is getting a 35-year federal prison sentence for his role in a drug raid where he shot and injured federal agents.

Patrick Pearson was convicted by a jury in July of several charges, including conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and heroin and assault with a deadly weapon on federal agents.

A federal judge in Spokane sentenced Pearson Monday to a term his defense claimed would last beyond his life expectancy, given his health conditions.

He was one of 15 people charged in the 2019 drug raid in Moses Lake, where he used a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot at ATF agents.

The use of tear gas brought Pearson out of his trailer after he'd shot himself in the face in an apparent suicide attempt.

The prosecution claimed Pearson forcibly assaulted six federal agents, injuring two of them.

Prosecutors said Pearson operated as a sort of partner with, or right-hand man of Luis Farias Cardenas in drug distribution activities.

His defense portrayed him as someone who did not set out to conspire with a drug dealer, but instead was an auto mechanic supporting Farias Cardenas business of buying cars at auction, and then repairing them for resale.

Pearson has more than a dozen previous felony convictions dating back about two decades, including burglary, theft, theft of a firearm and eluding.

He was sentenced Monday by Judge William Fremming Nielsen in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington in Spokane to 420 months (35 years) in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.

His defense had asked for a sentence of 30 years, noting the term would still last beyond his life expectancy.