By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
A well-known Seattle “community activist” who was also described by KOMO News as a “violence prevention advocate” is among 17 people named in federal indictments by the U.S. Attorney’s Office alleging a multi-state drug trafficking conspiracy.
Matelita (Marty) Jackson, 49, along with her 50-year-old husband, Mandel, is named in a criminal complaint, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The indictments came after a two-year investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies in Washington, Georgia, Missouri, Texas and Arizona.
According to KING News in Seattle, the investigation involved seizure of “nearly 850,000 fentanyl pills, nearly seven kilograms of fentanyl powder, seven kilograms of cocaine, 29 firearms and more than $100,000 in cash.”
Seattle’s KCPQ News said Jackson “stepped into the spotlight last summer after a mass shooting at a south Seattle Grocery store.” Ironically, the same report cited court records which alleged she and her husband “used the family’s home to store guns and drugs.”
As noted in one court document, Matelita Jackson allegedly assisted in helping to launder money from the enterprise. However, it is also noted she “has lengthy ties in the community and no prior criminal history.”
Most of those arrested in the case are Washington residents, but one suspect lives in Kansas and another resides in Phoenix, Ariz.
In the aftermath of the mass shooting in July 2023, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell declared, “This act of gun violence at an outreach event meant to be a safe place for South Seattle neighbors is appalling and unacceptable. There are too many guns in hands where they do not belong, and we can never accept this violence as a normal fact of life.”
Five people were shot in the incident, and one year later—this past July—Marty Jackson was quoted by KOMO lamenting the fact that no suspects were ever arrested or even identified.
“The healing has continued because you just don’t forget about something like this,” Jackson said at the time.
She has entered a plea of not guilty.
The U.S. Attorney ‘s Office release quoted Deputy Seattle Police Chief Eric Barden, who revealed, . “Fentanyl caused over 1,000 overdose deaths in King County last year. Seattle Police are delighted to partner with the FBI, DEA, USAO and other state and local jurisdictions to dismantle a drug distribution network undoubtedly responsible for deaths in our community.”
“This investigation revealed that the trafficking organization was a supplier to a community that was rocked by four fentanyl overdose deaths in just four days,” said U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman in the press release. “Fentanyl continues to claim lives in our community – especially in our Tribal communities. We will do all we can to stop the flow of this deadly drug.”
