A federal grand jury in Seattle has indicted 29-year-old Stephan A. Charlot, a resident of Whatcom County, on a charge of distributing fentanyl on or about May 24, 2025, on the territory of the Lummi Nation reservation in Whatcom County. The indictment marks a shift from earlier tribal charges to a federal prosecution in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. According to court records, the case is connected to the death of a woman found unresponsive in her Bellingham‑area home shortly after midnight on May 25, 2025. Investigators report evidence at the scene included foil, a straw, a lockbox, and multiple doses of Narcan, and messages on the woman’s phone indicated she had obtained fentanyl just before her death. A witness told investigators they had purchased fentanyl from Charlot and later shared it with the victim. An autopsy ruled her cause of death to be acute combined fentanyl and methadone intoxication, listed as an accidental overdose. Charlot was arrested on tribal charges in June 2025 and remains in tribal custody; the federal indictment was issued on February 4, 2026. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial before U.S. District Judge Kymberly K. Evanson on April 6, 2026, though this requires confirmation. The Department of Justice emphasizes that the charges are allegations and that Charlot is presumed innocent until proven guilty.