BOISE – Vaudencia Ceballos Hamilton, 55, of Hesperia, California, and Matthew Lee Sedillo, 30, of Eagle, Idaho, were sentenced to federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl resulting in death, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced today.  Chief U.S. District Judge Nye sentenced Hamilton to 240 months in prison and ordered that she pay a $100,000 fine.  On the same day, Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge sentenced Sedillo to 121 months in prison.  Both defendants, upon completion of their prison time, were ordered to serve an additional three years of supervised release.

According to court records, on August 14, 2017, Dominico Stewart of Nampa, Idaho, was found dead in an alleyway.  A toxicology report showed that Stewart had a lethal dose of methamphetamine and fentanyl in his system.  The coroner determined that Stewart died of a methamphetamine overdose.

Investigators learned that, just before his death, Stewart had met with Ryan Curtis, a methamphetamine dealer living in Nampa.  Curtis had begun distributing what he called “China White”, a common street name for either pure heroin or a mixture of heroin and fentanyl.  Curtis gave Stewart a sample of “China White” and asked that Stewart try the substance while Curtis was present so that Stewart understood how potent the drug was.

Shortly after Stewart ingested the substance, he collapsed.  Instead of calling emergency services or seeking help for Stewart, Curtis tried to revive Stewart on his own through several different methods, including injecting Stewart with methamphetamine.  Ultimately, Stewart died.  Curtis did not notify law enforcement of the death, but attempted to conceal his role in Stewart’s death by dumping Stewart’s body in an alleyway in Nampa.

The investigation into Stewart’s death lead them not only to Ryan Curtis, but ultimately to a drug trafficking organization that was distributing methamphetamine and fentanyl in the Treasure Valley.  Matthew Sedillo, Herman Sedillo, and Vaudencia Hamilton were all part of a trafficking organization that distributed the drugs that caused Dominico Stewart’s death.  Matthew Sedillo worked with his father, Herman Sedillo to transport controlled substances from their source of supply in California, Vaudencia Hamilton.  Once in Idaho, they distributed the drugs to others, including Ryan Curtis.  As a result of the investigation, officers were able to seize 852.6 grams of methamphetamine and 957.8 grams of fentanyl.

These cases were investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Nampa Police Department.

These indictments are the result of a joint investigation by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.  Program participants include the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; and the U.S. Marshals Service.

These cases were prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Board.  The Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Board is a collaboration of local law enforcement drug task forces and prosecuting agencies dedicated to addressing regional drug trafficking organizations that operate in Ada and Canyon County.

# # #