A 69-year-old Rhode Island resident, formerly of Texas and Chicago, was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Seattle for three federal felonies related to his 2021 scheme to smuggle duffle bags full of drugs across the strait bordering Washington State and Canada via watercraft, according to First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd.
Following a six-day trial in April 2026, John Michael Sherwood was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute prohibited narcotics, possession of controlled substances with the purpose to distribute, and conspiracy to commit international money laundering. At the sentence hearing, Judge Richard Jones stated, “What you did came across as a madman desperate for money, willing to do anything.” At the end of the day, what you were doing would be extremely harmful to thousands of individuals.”
“The eight large duffel bags of methamphetamine found on the beach near Port Angeles are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this defendant’s drug smuggling,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd stated. “Evidence in the case shows he made repeated narcotics runs to the Washington/British Columbia border to meet with his coconspirator in Canada. Over five decades, he committed five federal offenses. This 15-year sentence is the outcome of his continued and entrenched criminal behavior.
“A family’s shocking discovery of drugs at the beach exemplified the brazenness of Mr. Sherwood’s multiple plans to smuggle huge quantities of drugs into Canada, part of a career of criminality spanning state lines, international borders, and several decades,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. “He was involved in money laundering, lying, and conspiring against cooperative defendants in an attempt to conceal his crimes. The FBI and our many federal, state, local, and international law enforcement partners are committed to holding individuals accountable and will continue to do so, particularly those who are undeterred by the criminal justice system.”
During the trial, testimony and evidence indicated that Sherwood had transported over 300 pounds of methamphetamine and nearly a kilogram of fentanyl powder from southern California to the Olympic Peninsula. He was attempting to transport the drugs across the Strait to his contact on Vancouver Island’s shore via jet ski and inflatable raft. However, the smuggling attempts failed.
Assistant United States Attorney Vince Lombardi described Sherwood and his coconspirators’ roles in the drug trafficking to the jury, saying they were the transporters. “They are the FedEx or UPS of the drug trafficking crew,” Lombardi stated in closing remarks.
On April 7, 2021, a family on a beach in Port Angeles, Washington discovered a partially submerged duffel bag. The family alerted law enforcement, who discovered more than 50 pounds of methamphetamine and two pounds of fentanyl powder inside the bag. A different beachcomber noticed a partially submerged and deflated Zodiac-style raft on the beach and observed a U-Haul van coming and going from the area. close days later, on April 11, 2021, another beach walker reported finding seven more duffel bags stowed beneath a bridge close up from the beach. These bags had 252 pounds of methamphetamine. The medications’ wholesale worth in Canada was estimated to be around $1.5 million.
The FBI was able to trace the duffel bags to Walmart and locate the sale. Sherwood purchased the bags with his debit card and was captured on CCTV. Other evidence, including U-Haul rental data, motel registration, and storage locker records, linked Sherwood to the smuggling effort. Phone records revealed that he spoke with a coconspirator in Canada about the plan to sneak the cocaine into Canada across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
This is Sherwood’s second conviction for these crimes. Following the first trial and conviction, the case team discovered and exposed suspected misconduct on the part of a government witness, and the matter was scheduled for a new trial before a different judge.
The conviction follows a thorough investigation by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), U.S. Border Patrol and the Border Patrol Air and Marine Unit, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team (OPNET), which includes the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and Sequim Police Department. The Kootenai County (Idaho) Sheriff’s Office, Montana Highway Patrol, and Livingston Montana Police Department all helped in the investigation.
This lawsuit is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) project launched by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People from Invasion. The HSTF is a government-wide effort to combat criminal cartels, international gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and overseas.
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