Ten Mile Lake camp part of drug ring forfeiture

A $1.7 million lakeside property in Coos County is among the assets linked to illegal drug sales that will be forfeited by the leader of the drug ring with ties to Douglas County.

U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill found that the site of the former Easter Seals camp at Ten Mile Lake, which includes a home and several cabins, was purchased by Kent A. Jones using cash earned from the sale of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine. There were also allegations raised in court documents that drugs were flown into the site, located just south of the Douglas County line, on at least one occasion.

Winmill ordered Jones, a Days Creek native, to give up title to the property, along with other land holdings in Portland, Priest River, Idaho, and in Clark and Pend Orielle counties in Washington. Winmill, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Boise, Idaho, also ordered the forfeiture of a 25-foot boat, a 15-foot boat, two vehicles, 20,000 shares of stock in CritterPix Studios and assets belonging to eight companies and trusts that Jones had an interest in.

The government also seized $172,800 received from the sale of a Priest River property by co-defendant Jerod Keyser in which Jones had an interest.

Altogether, the government is seeking $5 million from Jones, who last year pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and money laundering. He faces up to 35 years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 7.

Meanwhile, two other co-defendants were sentenced this week in Boise for their roles in a drug enterprise that operated for at least 25 years.

Robert D. Long was sentenced to 42 months in prison. He earlier pleaded guilty to one county of conspiring to manufacture and distribute controlled substances. Long, who works in a store in Eugene, was given until Jan. 7 to surrender to authorities. He will serve his sentence at the federal prison in Sheridan.

Dale E. Barker was sentenced to two years in prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to launder money. Barker, a carpenter in Evergreen, Colo., will be placed in one of two federal work camps in Colorado.

Both Long and Barker were given lighter sentences because of their cooperation in the case.

The government is seeking $1 million from Long, including $44,064 earned from the sale of a property in Eugene, $10,000 from the sale of a motorcycle and proceeds from a 2004 Chevrolet Avalanche seized in the case.

Barker also had property at Ten Mile Lake and three parcels in Mendocino County, Calif.

• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@nrtoday.com.