American guilty of attempted drug smuggling on jet ski

A 67-year-old American has been convicted in Seattle of three crimes related to his failed plan to smuggle sports bags full of drugs from Washington state to Vancouver Island via a jet ski and an inflatable raft.

John Michael Sherwood was convicted in U.S. District Court of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, possession of narcotics with intent to distribute, and conspiracy to commit international money laundering.

The jury deliberated for about three hours before reaching a guilty verdict. Judge James L. Robart scheduled sentencing for Oct. 29.

The court heard that Sherwood had brought the drugs from Southern California to the Olympic Peninsula and planned to transport them via a jet ski and inflatable raft across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to a contact on Vancouver Island, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington said in a statement.

But the plan failed after gym bags full of drugs were found in three separate incidents on beaches near Port Angeles in the spring of 2021.

On April 7, a family discovered a partially submerged gym bag and called police. More than 50 pounds of methamphetamine were found in the bag, as well as two pounds of fentanyl powder.

Another beachcomber found a partially submerged and deflated Zodiac-style raft on the beach and saw a U-Haul van driving back and forth from the beach, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

On April 11, another beach walker found seven more gym bags hidden under a bridge near the beach. The bags contained 342 pounds of methamphetamine.

The estimated wholesale value of the drugs in Canada was approximately $1.5 million.

The FBI was able to trace the bags to a Walmart and determined that Sherwood had used his debit card to purchase the bags and was also seen on surveillance video making the purchases.

Records of van rentals, motel registrations and safe deposit box storage also linked him to the smuggling operation.

Phone records showed he communicated with an accomplice in Canada about the smuggling plan.

Several U.S. and Canadian law enforcement agencies worked together on the investigation, from the FBI to the RCMP and the U.S. Border Patrol.

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