Bail is set at $100,000 for a Centralia man accused of handing fentanyl and meth to the passenger in his car during a traffic stop in March.
A sergeant with the Centralia Police Department had conducted a traffic stop on the car for expired tabs on March 28, according to court documents, which noted the sergeant knew the vehicle’s driver, William Sacks Jr., 61, “from prior law enforcement-related contacts.”
At the time, Sacks was arrested for third-degree driving with a suspended license and reportedly gave officers permission to search his car.
Inside, they reportedly found “a small bag of fentanyl pills and a baggie containing methamphetamine in the car, in a hidden compartment next to the driver’s side of the vehicle.”
Sacks “could not be booked into the Lewis County Jail at that time due to exceedingly high blood pressure,” according to court documents.
Sacks was reportedly transported to the Providence Centralia Hospital’s emergency room and was released into the care of hospital staff.
Meanwhile, the passenger in Sacks’ vehicle was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail on an outstanding Centralia Municipal Court warrant. She reportedly had small bags of fentanyl and meth in her bra when she was booked into the jail. When questioned, she reportedly told the Centralia sergeant “that when Sacks saw the officer, he handed her two small baggies with the controlled substances in them, which she hid in her bra.”
Sacks was charged on April 9 in Lewis County Superior Court with one count of possession of a controlled substance and two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture or deliver.
“As of the date of this declaration, Mr. Sacks’ whereabouts are unknown to the state,” the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office stated in charging documents filed on April 9.
According to defense attorney Rachael Tiller, Sacks was at Providence Centralia Hospital up until the early morning of April 15, when he was discharged and immediately arrested on a $25,000 warrant for the new charges.
At the time this case was filed, Sacks was out of custody on unsecured bail for an unrelated 2022 possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver case.
Trial for that case was scheduled to begin April 18.
Judge Joely Yeager’s decision to set Sacks’ bail at $100,000 for this case was based on that 2022 case and Sacks’ criminal history.
Arraignment was scheduled for April 18.
