A Seattle man faces more than three decades in federal prison after authorities linked him to a flood of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine that flowed from a Scottsdale short-term rental and into a cross-country pipeline. The sentencing followed a lengthy investigation that found suitcases full of pills, firearms, and cash linked to a Phoenix-area trafficking crew.
Seattle Dealer Draws 35-Year Federal Term
According to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, US District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan sentenced 28-year-old Bryce Hill to 420 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Following a two-and-a-half-week trial, Hill was found guilty of conspiring to distribute at least five kilograms of cocaine, 400 grams or more of fentanyl, and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.
Huge Scottsdale Stash Tied To Cross-Country Ring
According to investigators, the case began with a December 25, 2022 search of a Scottsdale short-term rental where agents discovered 28 kilograms of fentanyl pills, 7.5 kilograms of fentanyl powder, 48 kilograms of methamphetamine, three kilograms of cocaine, and 20 firearms, among other items. A later search of Hill’s Seattle apartment on January 11, 2023, yielded over 27 kg of fentanyl pills, various guns, and approximately $387,000 in cash, according to KTAR News.
How Prosecutors Built The Case
Prosecutors told jurors that they used court-authorized wiretaps, intercepted calls, and a trove of recovered drugs and guns to demonstrate that Hill moved and distributed huge loads for the Phoenix-based Monarrez drug-trafficking group. The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that the Monarrez crew has been tied to millions of fentanyl pills and hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine, and that the group’s leaders were convicted in Pittsburgh in December 2025 as part of the same extensive investigation. Press materials portrayed the case as part of the Department of Justice’s Operation Take Back America campaign.
Local Fallout And Enforcement
The Scottsdale Police Department collaborated with the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations on the investigation, according to federal officials and local media, and prosecutors characterized the case as a major blow to a fentanyl distribution network linked to Phoenix. Community groups and public health authorities have used convictions like this to urge for additional funding to prevent overdoses and track how illicit medications migrate from border crossings into Valley areas, according to KTAR News.
The term effectively silences an alleged high-volume distributor for decades, adding another significant conviction to a multi-state enforcement effort. The U.S. Attorney’s Office announcement and local media provide a complete summary of seized items, agency credits, and the investigation timeline.
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