Man sentenced to more than 8 years for drug dealing in Thurston, Mason counties
A U.S. District Court judge sentenced a 38-year-old man to more than eight years in prison for drug dealing in Mason and Thurston counties.
David Nathaniel Hoffman pleaded guilty on April 13 to three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury, according to court records.
Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman announced Hoffman’s sentencing in a Tuesday news release. Judge Benjamin H. Settle sentenced Hoffman to 100 months in prison and reportedly called his conduct “extremely disturbing” during the sentencing hearing, according to the release from Gorman.
“This defendant was not just spreading poisons in our community, he tried to use fear and intimidation to thwart being brought to justice,” Gorman said in the release. “Such conduct — using an explosive to damage a witness’ car — resulted in a longer federal sentence.”
In his plea agreement, Hoffman admitted that he confronted a person who knew of his drug dealings to prevent them from providing information to law enforcement. He also admitted that he directed an associate to use an explosive device to damage the person’s car on Oct. 13, 2019.
The resulting explosion damaged the parked car outside the person’s Thurston County home, according to the agreement.
Regarding the assault charge, Hoffman admitted he caused serious injuries to a fellow inmate at the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac on April 28, 2020, per the agreement.
Law enforcement caught Hoffman with distribution quantities of narcotics three times, according to court documents.
First on Nov. 30, 2017, when state Department of Corrections and the U.S. Marshals Service deputies arrested him for an outstanding DOC felony warrant at his Olympia home, law enforcement found 19.5 grams of meth, 28.4 grams of heroin, a digital scale and multiple empty baggies with drug residue.
Law enforcement caught him a second time on Jan. 3, 2019, during a traffic stop in Olympia, and he was arrested on an outstanding DOC felony warrant. Law enforcement found large meth shards, a small amount of meth in a glass tube and a large baggie of meth on his waistband.
For the third time, law enforcement arrested him on another DOC warrant during a traffic stop in Shelton on Oct. 21, 2019, per the documents. While searching his car, law enforcement found 72 methylphenidate 27-milligram pills, two methylphenidate 18-milligram pills, 5.3 grams of heroin in a baggie, 7.2 grams of meth, a black digital scale with white crystal residue, and various other pills.
Additionally, law enforcement found what appeared to be three improvised explosive devices in the car, including a pineapple-style grenade, an aerial rocket and two mortars taped together with clear plastic tape. However, the grenade only had cotton inside it.
Hoffman was transferred to federal custody on Nov. 19, 2019 and he has remained there ever since, per the release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Crisham asked the court to sentence Hoffman to 137 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to a sentencing memo.
“Hoffman’s attempt to intimidate a potential witness against him by detonating a bomb on a car in front of her home strikes at the heart of our criminal justice system. ... His behavior was intended to weaken our criminal justice system’s delicate reliance on witnesses,” Crisham wrote. “His conduct was egregious.”
However, Thomas Weaver, Hoffman’s attorney, requested 84 months with the same three years of supervised release, per a sentencing memo.
“On the one hand, drug delivery is a major problem in our society that needs to be dealt with,” Weaver wrote. “On the other hand, the quantities Mr. Hoffman possessed are more indicative of a street-level drug dealer than a major player.”
Once Hoffman completes his prison sentence, he is expected to serve three years of supervised release, according to court documents.
The Thurston County Narcotics Task Force investigated the case with Homeland Security Investigations, the DOJ release says. The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation, per the release, along with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Washington state Department of Corrections.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations handled the assault at the Federal Detention Center, according to the release.
This story was originally published August 13, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
