A Fatal Struggle With Heroin — And Now, An Arrest

Police found Tyson Anderson lying on the floor of his apartment next to a pool of vomit, dead from an apparent heroin overdose.

The remaining stash of heroin was tucked inside a shoe in the bedroom closet, hidden there by the woman who was shooting up with Anderson. She too had passed out, but later awoke to find the 23-year-old unconscious next to her.

The date was April 22, 2013.

It would be another year before police had enough evidence to charge the drug dealer who allegedly sold the heroin to Anderson with the rare felony charge of homicide by controlled substance.

Robert T. Lusk appeared in Lewis County Superior Court Tuesday afternoon. The 36-year-old Chehalis man was also charged with delivery of a controlled substance. Both charges are class B felonies and carry maximum penalties of 10 years in prison. His bail was set at $200,000.

For Anderson’s family, Lusk’s arrest is a relief.

Ashlee Harris, who is the mother of Anderson’s now 4-year-old daughter, Kaylee, said she and the rest of his family are grateful the police investigated Anderson’s death as a homicide.

“He was an awesome guy,” she said. “He cared about his family and friends and his kids. He was the first person to help anyone who needed help.”

Anderson was a life-long Centralia resident. At the time of his death, he was a participant in Lewis County Drug Court.

He struggled to get off and stay off heroin. He wanted to be clean for his family and for his daughter, she said.

Harris said she is happy the police saw that Anderson’s death was more than a simple overdose.

“Ultimately, it is his fault,” she said. “But we aren’t going to get the people (selling drugs) off the street unless they are held accountable for their actions. Tyson paid for his mistakes, and he paid the ultimate price. And I just hope the people who were involved in it will pay a price, too.”

Heroin has become an alarmingly prevalent issue in Lewis County and the surrounding Southwest Washington area in recent years — particularly in people younger than 30.

For every overdose death, detectives investigate it as a homicide to try and determine where the drugs came from, said Centralia Detective Sgt. Pat Fitzgerald.

“Obviously, if someone takes a heroin overdose, they are somewhat responsible for their own death,” he said.

Under state law, however, the person who provided the heroin is also responsible.

“There is a certain amount of responsibility of selling a product to somebody that you know has a high potential for either harming them or killing them,” he said. “It’s a law, and the justice system intends to hold people accountable for that.”

The sergeant said Lusk is the department’s fourth controlled substance homicide arrest in recent years.

“If nothing else, it sends a message to the dealers that not only are we going to investigate the person’s death, but we are going to pursue the person who is partially responsible,” he said.

And for Anderson’s death, that is exactly what police did.

Police and medics responded to his apartment on the 500 block of North Iron Street at about 2 p.m. on April 22, 2013, court documents state. They found Anderson unconscious, lying next to a pool of vomit.

A woman who was also at the apartment told police that they both injected heroin at the same time and she fell asleep, court documents state. When she woke up, Anderson was not breathing. She called 911 and hid the rest of the drugs in a shoe inside the bedroom closet.

The woman, identified as a 34-year-old from Centralia, later told police that the person who sold Anderson the drugs went by the name “Robert” and drove a blue Ford Explorer, according to court documents. She also said Robert was known as a white supremacist whom Anderson had issues with in the past.

Lusk has a tattoo of the letters “WP” signifying white supremacy on his arm, court documents state.

Police later confirmed the man was Lusk and that he drove a blue Ford Explorer, according to court documents. Further investigation found the telephone number Anderson had been in contact with the day he bought drugs also belonged to Lusk.

A friend of Anderson’s, Tessie Taylor, of Chehalis, said he was a wonderful and respectful person who loved his family and daughter.

“All he talked about was his daughter,” she said. “She was his hopes and dreams.”

Taylor said she met Anderson in drug treatment in late 2012 and that he was well-liked and made a lot of friends in the recovery community.

“I relapsed shortly before he did and when I heard of his death, I was devastated — but that didn’t stop me from using,” said Taylor, who is now a participant Lewis County Drug Court. “Now that I am clean, Tyson inspires me to stay clean for my little girl.”

Taylor said she has mixed feelings about prosecutors charging the man who allegedly supplied heroin to Anderson the day of his death with homicide.

“It’s sad that this happened, but both the dealer and the users are irresponsible,” she said. “I know I didn’t think of others when I was using, so it’s not surprising that the (person) being charged here didn’t think twice about it either.”

Despite that, she said she can understand why authorities charged Lusk.

“I am sad and was angry that this happened,” she said. “I just hope through Tyson’s story, and this man being charged, people can learn from the situation.”

At the time of Lusk’s preliminary court appearance Tuesday afternoon, Lusk had already been in custody of the jail for several months serving time for a conviction of first-degree driving while license suspended, said Bob Schroeter, a public defender who represents defendants during their initial court appearance. Lusk also has a pending first-degree driving while license suspended case in Thurston County where he will likely face an additional 180 days in jail.

Lusk will be arraigned on the drug delivery and homicide charges on Thursday.