Three women take plea deals in Sacramento meth/heroin trafficking case tied to Aryan Brotherhood investigation

SACRAMENTO — Federal prosecutors have struck plea deals with three of four women who were charged in 2019 as part of a federal wiretap investigation into the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang, court records show.

Jeanna Quesenberry, Staci Blanton, and Nancy Phillips have all pleaded guilty to various federal drug trafficking offenses, and in return prosecutors have pledged to seek “low end” sentences for the three. However, both Blanton and Quesenberry both accepted convictions for crimes that carry a mandatory minimum of five years in prison.

A fourth defendant, Katherine Fuimaono, still has pending charges and hasn’t decided whether to seek a plea deal or take her case to trial, her attorney wrote in court records.

Quesenberry, the lead defendant, admitted to selling methamphetamine and heroin to undercover DEA Agent Brian Nehring throughout 2016. During one of these meetings, Quesenberry allegedly told the undercover agent that she maintained multiple stash houses, and complained that people in one of them had stolen some of her “product.”

In another instance, Blanton began suffering a heart attack, and agreed to assist Quesenberry in a drug deal in exchange for a ride to the hospital, Blanton’s attorneys wrote in a failed bid to convince a judge to release her from jail. Her attorneys argued that was the only time prosecutors could prove Blanton assisted in the alleged drug ring.

Attorneys for Blanton, Quesenberry, and Phillips all argued that their clients had serious medical issues that warranted their release from jail. Phillips and Quesenberry were granted release but Blanton was not, records show.

Quesenberry’s plea agreement in this case does not affect a separate list of federal charges she faces in another related case, also charged in federal court in Sacramento.

In the other case, Queseberry is accused of conspiring with incarcerated members of the Aryan Brotherhood who allegedly used contraband cellphones to direct drug deals on the outside and receive contraband in various California prisons. When Quesenberry was charged in 2019, prosecutors described her at a press conference as an important member of the Family Affiliated Irish Mafia gang, also known as FAIM. Several of Quesenberry’s co-defendants face murder and murder conspiracy charges in the still-pending case, which has tentatively been set for trial in March 2023.

Blanton and Phillips are set to be sentenced in May, but Quesenberry has not yet received a sentencing date, records show.