TWO CALIFORNIA DRUG TRAFFICKERS SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON

U.S. Attorney's Office - District of Oregon

EUGENE, Ore.—The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon announced today that two California men have been sentenced to federal prison for trafficking large quantities of methamphetamine and heroin from California to Oregon.

Jack Scott Lewis, 36, of Los Angeles, was sentenced today to 120 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release. Previously, on June 6, 2022, Lewis’s accomplice, Michael Panoosi, 56, also of California, was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, in December 2019, detectives from the Douglas Interagency Narcotics Team (DINT) began investigating Panoosi, a California-based drug dealer, for transporting large quantities of methamphetamine from California to Oregon for distribution and sale in Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, and Lane Counties. Investigators learned that Panoosi would transport several dozen pounds of methamphetamine on each trip from California and was known to use a driver to transport and deliver drugs. Panoosi had multiple prior drug convictions. 

On October 11, 2020, Panoosi, Lewis, and another person were seen driving in Northern California toward Oregon. DINT detectives stopped and searched the group’s vehicle in Douglas County and found 46 pounds of methamphetamine and one pound of heroin. The detectives found more methamphetamine and three handguns in Lewis’s backpack. Two of the guns were loaded, two had obliterated serial numbers, and one had a high-capacity magazine. Another handgun and drug packaging material were found in Panoosi’s backpack.

On October 15, 2020, a federal grand jury in Eugene returned indictments charging Lewis and Panoosi with possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

On March 8, 2022, Panoosi pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Later, on June 6, 2022, Lewis pleaded guilty to the same charge.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and DINT. It was prosecuted by Jeffrey S. Sweet, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

Formed in October 1989, the Douglas Interagency Narcotics Team is a special investigative unit formed to combat illegal narcotics activity in Douglas County. DINT member agencies include Douglas County, including the Douglas County Sheriff and District Attorney’s Offices, the Oregon National Guard, Oregon State Police, and Roseburg Police Department.