A 42-year-old Phoenix man with prior convictions for drug trafficking was sentenced this week in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 150 months in prison for acting as a broker for a large amount of methamphetamine and fentanyl headed to Western Washington, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd announced in a news release.
Ryan Matthew Gennette was a longtime resident of Auburn before relocating to Phoenix. Gennette was tied to large shipments of methamphetamine and fentanyl-tainted M30 pills.
“Not only did Mr. Gennette traffick huge amounts of dangerous drugs by mail and by courier, he was also involved in sending firearms to cartel connected drug sources in Mexico,” Floyd said in the news release. “This sentence takes a repeat offender out of the drug business for a significant period.”
According to records filed in the case, Gennette was already on law enforcement’s radar in June 2024 when he shipped two large boxes containing 7 kilograms of fentanyl pills, almost 2 kilograms of fentanyl powder, and over 10 kilograms of actual methamphetamine to an address on Whidbey Island. Law enforcement seized and replaced the drugs with sham materials so that they could gather information on Gennette’s drug network.
Next, Gennette sent 9 kilograms of methamphetamine via courier — which was also seized by law enforcement.
Over time, law enforcement worked with confidential informants to place orders for large amounts of drugs from Gennette. This led to Gennette reaching out to an alleged contact in Mexico, Donald Budge. Budge is also charged in the case and is detained pending trial scheduled for Dec. 15, the Department of Justice stated in the news release.
Both men were arrested in November 2024 — Gennette in Phoenix and Budge in Tijuana, Mexico. Gennette pleaded guilty in May 2026.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Vincent T. Lombardi and Crystal C. Correa.
