Press Release
Homeland Security Task Force Investigation Leads to Indictment of Multiple Defendants in Fentanyl-Related Death Case
Monday, November 9, 2026
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Utah
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A 15-count indictment has been unsealed charging multiple individuals for their alleged roles in an organized criminal enterprise involving several drug-trafficking offenses, including the distribution of fentanyl that resulted in the death of another person.
Christopher Lee Washington, 53, of Millcreek, Utah; Natasha Annette Ashworth, 39, of Salt Lake City; Keisha Brewer-Case, 23, of West Valley City, Utah; Brittany Cuevas Caldwell, 38, of Salt Lake City; and Keith Jerome Lewis, 59, of Salt Lake City, were indicted by a federal grand jury on October 21, 2026, in the District of Utah. According to court documents, beginning on a date unknown, but not later than April 29, 2026, and continuing through at least August 27, 2026, in the District of Utah and elsewhere, all five defendants conspired to distribute four hundred grams or more of a substance containing fentanyl; five hundred grams or more of a mixture of a substance containing methamphetamine; and cocaine. As alleged in court documents, on June 23, 2026, Washington intentionally distributed fentanyl, which resulted in the death of another person. Additionally, according to court documents, as part of the investigation, on August 27, 2026, while executing a search warrant on Ashworth’s residence, agents recovered approximately 19 pounds of methamphetamine, a brick of cocaine weighing approximately one kilogram, and approximately 21 grams of fentanyl powder.
Drugs seized during the execution of a search warrant on August 27, 2026.
Washington, Ashworth, Brewer-Case, Caldwell, and Lewis are charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Washington is also charged with distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. Additional charges pertaining to the individual defendants are detailed in the indictment. Initial appearances have occurred or are scheduled throughout November 2026 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daphne A. Oberg at the Orrin G. Hatch United States Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
United States Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah made the announcement. The case is being investigated jointly by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Salt Lake City Police Department, and Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake. Assistant United States Attorney Vernon G. Stejskal of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case. This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Salt Lake comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Updated November 9, 2026
Topics
Homeland Security Task Force
Project Safe Neighborhoods
Components
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
USAO - Utah
Press Release Number: 26-119
