Zachary James Munoz

Introduction

Zachary James Munoz, 37, a Washington man, was sentenced to three years and five months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for trafficking fentanyl to Billings, Montana. The sentencing took place on October 29, 2026, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office announcement issued the following day, which states that U.S. District Judge William W. Mercer presided. Munoz had pleaded guilty in June 2026 to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and United States Attorney Scott Twito announced the sentence. The case that ended in his conviction began with a misdirected voicemail that alerted law enforcement to a planned fentanyl run from Washington State to Montana.

Background Information

The release connects Munoz to the fentanyl trade through allegations and through the traffic stop that produced the evidence against him. The government alleged in court documents that Munoz was transporting fentanyl from Tri-Cities, Washington, to Montana with a partner, Crystal Williamson-Burke, who pleaded guilty to trafficking charges last year and was sentenced to nearly four years in prison in February 2026. The release describes no further details about Munoz’s background, residence, employment, or any prior criminal history beyond this case.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Convicted and sentenced.

The case broke, improbably, through a wrong number. In early March 2025, Williamson-Burke called a wrong number and left a voice message, which ended up tipping off law enforcement that she planned to drive to the Tri-Cities to pick up a package of fentanyl pills to bring back to Billings. Law enforcement tracked her vehicle to Washington and then pulled her over on her return to Billings. Munoz was sitting in the passenger seat. In the vehicle, investigators found approximately 2,200 multicolored fentanyl pills.

Munoz pleaded guilty in June 2026 to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. On October 29, 2026, per the announcement issued October 30, U.S. District Judge William W. Mercer sentenced him to three years and five months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin Rubich prosecuted the case, and the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Taskforce conducted the investigation. The prosecution sits within Project Safe Neighborhoods, which the release describes as a key component of Operation Take Back America, the Department of Justice’s nationwide effort against violent crime.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The reaction on the record is institutional: United States Attorney Scott Twito announced the sentence, and the release frames the prosecution as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the DOJ’s coordination initiative operated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in all 94 federal districts as a key component of Operation Take Back America. The release contains no victim statements, community statements, or other commentary, so no wider public reaction is described. The concrete consequences are Munoz’s federal conviction, the three-years-and-five-months prison term, and the four years of supervised release that will follow it. His alleged partner’s case has already concluded: Williamson-Burke was sentenced to nearly four years in prison in February 2026.

Current Status

Munoz has been convicted and sentenced. He pleaded guilty in June 2026 to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and on October 29, 2026, U.S. District Judge William W. Mercer sentenced him to three years and five months in prison followed by four years of supervised release. The release does not describe where Munoz is being held, any designation decision, or any appeal, leaving the sentence as the final disposition described in the record.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The judgment pairs a three-years-and-five-months federal prison term with four years of supervised release, and it closes out the alleged Tri-Cities-to-Montana fentanyl route that the government says Munoz ran with Crystal Williamson-Burke. The wrong-number voicemail in early March 2025 converted a planned pill pickup into a tracked vehicle, a traffic stop on the return leg to Billings, and the recovery of roughly 2,200 multicolored fentanyl pills with Munoz in the passenger seat — the discovery to which his June 2026 guilty plea answered. The release describes no further details about his work, family, or life beyond the offenses alleged and admitted, and the sentence.

Sources

• U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Montana, “Washington man sentenced to over three years in prison for trafficking meth to Billings”, October 30, 2026 — source