Seattle City Wire

A 56-year-old Seattle man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to five years in prison for dealing drugs while armed with a handgun, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Cuong Quoc Cao pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart remarked, "At 56 you should know better… We have someone who has absolutely no respect for the law…. We are not effectively dealing with these open-air drug situations."

Records indicate that in late January and February 2022, the Seattle Police Department and Drug Enforcement Administration targeted open-air drug dealing at 12th and Jackson as part of “Operation New Day.” Cao was observed making hand-to-hand drug sales and left the area when a woman nearby was treated for an overdose. Upon his arrest, police found a 9mm semi-automatic pistol with a loaded magazine in his backpack along with crack cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl pills.

Cao was indicted in March 2022 and pleaded guilty on the eve of trial in April 2024.

Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson requested a five-year sentence with three years of supervised release, stating, “While the amount of fentanyl the defendant possessed with the intent to distribute is not substantial, the fact that he brazenly sold drugs and illegally packed a firearm to protect himself are cause for great concern." She added that this sentence "provides a reasonable punishment for the defendant’s decision to traffic fentanyl – a drug which is poisoning our community - and provides a modicum of safety to the community through incapacitation."

The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department and DEA and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Cecelia Gregson and Carolyn Forstein.