A 37-year-old rapper was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison for his role in a large drug-trafficking ring that distributed heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl in King County and elsewhere in Washington, officials say.
Recorded phone calls captured Wayne Frisby, known as Mac Wayne, making drug deals and discussing how to help a murder suspect evade law enforcement, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.
Investigators matched the Snohomish County rapper to the voice over the phone by comparing the recordings to an Amazon Prime documentary about him, in which he discusses being a drug dealer and pimp, federal prosecutors said in a news release.
Frisby pleaded guilty this spring to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, prosecutors said, and will be under supervised release for four years once he’s released from prison.
Frisby was one of 11 people indicted in December 2020 in connection to the distribution of drugs across King, Pierce, Snohomish and Lewis counties, prosecutors said.
Authorities seized large quantities of methamphetamine, heroin and suspected fentanyl pills in the case, according to prosecutors. Authorities also seized about $525,000, a bank account containing $100,000 and 24 guns.
Prosecutors asked a judge to sentence Frisby to eight years in prison, noting that Washington drug poisonings increased by about 30% in 2020 while methamphetamine and synthetic opioids were involved in a growing number of drug-related deaths, according to the University of Washington’s Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute.
Michael Nance, Frisby’s attorney, said that in many ways, it’s a miracle Frisby is still alive.
Frisby survived a near-fatal gunshot wound to the head at 17 that left him permanently blind, Nance said. Frisby didn’t feel that he had many options and found himself in and out of court, Nance said.
Frisby is ready to move on after completing his prison sentence, focusing on raising his daughter, who’s now 1 year old, and continuing to make music, Nance said, adding that his client is bright and talented but needs support.