Stevens County Sheriff’s Office Investigation Leads to U.S. Marshals, Spokane Valley Detectives Arresting Mother Wanted in Child’s Overdose
Spokane, WA / December 04, 2025 – Detectives from the Spokane Valley Police Department and members of the U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force Dec. 3 arrested a woman wanted on multiple charges following the overdose death of a child.
Briana Smutz was wanted on a Stevens County Superior Court felony arrest warrant for Assault of a Child in the Third Degree- Domestic Violence Position of Trust - Vulnerable Victim, Abandonment of a Dependent Person in the First Degree - Domestic Violence - Position of Trust - Vulnerable Victim, and Violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act Possession with Intent to Deliver Fentanyl.
The charges stem from an incident in which a 2-year-old child was exposed to fentanyl pills allegedly belonging to Smutz, the child’s mother. The child began to suffer symptoms consistent with a fentanyl overdose. Emergency medical personnel administered Narcan and transported the toddler by ambulance from Loon Lake to a Spokane-area hospital for further treatment.
According to reports, Smutz mother did not remain with the child and left before she could be interviewed by responding law enforcement officers.
The Stevens County Sheriff’s Office Proactive Narcotic Enforcement Task Force developed information and identified her location the previous day, allowing law enforcement officers to coordinate the arrest quickly.
Smutz was taken into custody without incident near the intersection of North Argonne Road and Grace Road.
The Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force is a U.S. Marshals-led partnership comprising federal, state, and local law enforcement officers from Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. The task force’s primary mission is to locate, arrest and return to the justice system the most violent and egregious federal and state fugitives.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the nearest U.S. Marshals office, the U.S. Marshals Service Communications Center at 1-800-336-0102, or USMS Tips.
Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found at https://www.usmarshals.gov.
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Source: U.S. Marshals Service (usmarshals.gov)
