Ridgefield man pleads guilty to federal drug charges

A Ridgefield man linked to a white supremacist prison gang pleaded guilty Wednesday to drug and gun crimes in federal court. He admitted in his plea agreement to creating a fentanyl pill distribution ring in Alaska.

Ronaldo McComb, 59, is one of 27 people indicted by a grand jury in March 2023 for a drug trafficking ring linked to the Aryan Family prison gang, according to the Justice Department.

McComb pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and felon in possession of a firearm. The drug conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison due to the amount of narcotics involved in the case, the department said in a news release.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed to recommend 13 years in prison.

The indictment states that McComb distributed fentanyl on Jan. 30, 2023, in Clark County and possessed fentanyl and heroin with the intent to distribute them on Feb. 7, 2022, in Lewis County.

McComb was arrested on March 22, 2023. Authorities found methamphetamine, heroin, three firearms and large amounts of cash and gold bars at McComb's Kalama home, according to the release Press. As part of his plea, McComb stipulated forfeiture of this silver and gold.

McComb admitted to several recorded phone calls with co-conspirators in which he discussed his drug trafficking activities involving the distribution of several kilograms of methamphetamine and tens of thousands of fentanyl pills, according to the Justice Department.

He also admitted to possessing large quantities of heroin and a 9mm handgun that law enforcement seized from the trunk of his vehicle following a traffic stop in February 2022. McComb said is prohibited from possessing firearms due to his convictions for assault and theft in Clark County. and another assault conviction in Cowlitz County, the news release states.

The FBI investigated the gang that McComb was a part of, and just a year after the investigation began, agents seized 830,000 fentanyl pills, 5½ pounds of fentanyl powder, 223 pounds of methamphetamine, 3½ pounds of heroin, 5 pounds of cocaine, $388,000 in cash and 48 firearms, a previous Justice Department press release states.