A Lewis County Superior Court Judge set bail at $25,000 on Wednesday for a Centralia man accused of dealing methamphetamine following an investigation by the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET).
JNET initiated an investigation into Dennis Allen Johnston, 47, in October 2024 after he was identified as a “local drug trafficker dealing in ounce quantities of methamphetamine,” according to a probable cause affidavit filed by prosecutors in Lewis County Superior Court.
“During the investigation, Dennis sold a JNET confidential informant approximately one ounce of suspected methamphetamine between October of 2024 and February of 2025,” court documents state. “The sale was completed inside Dennis' residence in the 600 block of South Gold Street in Centralia.”
In February 2025, Johnston was contacted by JNET and Centralia police. He was taken into custody for driving with a suspended license.
“During a search of Dennis' person, officers found he was in possession of approximately six ounces of suspected methamphetamine,” court documents state. “Based on Detective Huerta's training and experience, six ounces of methamphetamine is a quantity much larger than that of personal use.”
The suspected methamphetamine from both incidents was submitted to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab for testing. Both samples tested positive for methamphetamine, according to court documents.
Johnston has no felony convictions on his record, though 31 arrest warrants have been issued for him in the past. None of the warrants were active as of Wednesday.
Johnston has been charged with delivery of a controlled substance — a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine — as well as unlawful use of a building for drug purposes, a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison, and possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead asked Superior Court Judge J. Andrew Toynbee to set bail at $50,000, noting Johnston has no felony criminal history but a long history of arrest warrants.
Defense attorney Rachael Tiller asked that bail be set at $15,000 if Toynbee wasn’t willing to release him on a promise to appear in court for future hearings.
Toynbee set bail at $25,000 “due to the nature of the offense and the threat to community safety based on these allegations of pretty serious drug dealing.”
Johnston remains held in the Lewis County Jail.
His next court appearance is set for July 24.
