Charges against the four suspects the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) arrested last week for alleged involvement in the sale of fentanyl, meth and heroin were filed in Lewis County Superior Court on Friday.
Three of the suspects, identified as Wade W. Pierce, 60, Donald R. Pender, 68, and Mindy M. Ferguson, 43, all of Centralia, were arrested the morning of Aug. 3 following the execution of a search warrant at a property in the 200 block of Blanchard Road.
JNET reportedly identified the property, which is allegedly owned by Pender, as “a location that sells large amounts of fentanyl-laced pills, heroin and methamphetamine” in 2022, according to documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court on Friday, Aug. 4. Pierce is accused of selling a total of over 300 fentanyl-laced M-30 pills “on multiple occasions” between March and August 2023. Pender was allegedly present for at least one of those drug transactions, according to court documents.
JNET obtained a search warrant for the residence after a year-long investigation and executed it with aid from the Centralia Police Department and the Chehalis Police Department at approximately 11 a.m. on Aug. 3, according to court documents.
Pender, Pierce and Ferguson and a fourth subject were reportedly at the residence when the search warrant was executed. The fourth subject is not facing charges.
A search of Pender’s bedroom reportedly yielded a few grams of heroin and approximately 32.7 grams of fentanyl, according to court documents.
“It’s reasonable to believe that Pierce provided this fentanyl to Pender, possibly in exchange for rent,” the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office noted in an affidavit of probable cause filed in Lewis County Superior Court.
Investigators noted fentanyl is sold by the 10th of a gram due to its high potency, “showing that what Pender possessed could easily be over 300 doses.”
A search of Pierce and Ferguson’s room yielded approximately 1,000 fentanyl-laced M-30 pills, 100 grams of fentanyl powder, 90 grams of heroin, a digital scale and “a plethora of clean and unused baggies.”
When questioned by law enforcement, Pierce reportedly “denied any drug use or sales,” but when Pierce was asked about a traffic stop conducted on Oct. 11, 2022, “that yielded drugs,” Ferguson, who was present for that traffic stop, allegedly “excitedly uttered the fact that all drugs in that van during that stop had been hers,” according to court documents. Law enforcement reportedly found one bag containing 12.2 grams of heroin, 7.4 grams of meth, two scales and empty bags and another bag containing several M-30 pills, 1.9 grams of meth, heroin and a digital scale inside the vehicle during that October 2022 traffic stop, according to court documents.
While Ferguson reportedly “later changed her statement,” the alleged statement made on Aug. 3 gave officers probable cause for arrest, according to court documents.
Pierce and Ferguson were charged Friday with three counts and one count, respectively, of violation of the uniform controlled substances act (VUCSA) by possession with intent to deliver or manufacture a controlled substance. Pierce’s charges were spread across two case numbers to differentiate the allegations stemming from the October truck stop and the allegations stemming from the investigation into the Centralia address.
Pender faces one count each of VUCSA by possession with intent to deliver or manufacture a controlled substance and VUCSA by maintaining a building for the purpose of unlawfully manufacturing, delivering, selling or storing a controlled substance. Each VUCSA violation is a class C felony, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
The fourth suspect, Howard D. Eslick, 60, of Centralia, was arrested shortly before 4:40 p.m. on Aug. 3 in the 7300 block of Prather Road Southwest in connection with JNET’s investigation. Eslick is the alleged driver of a red pickup truck that JNET detectives observed contacting “another vehicle believed to be trafficking controlled substances” on Feb. 6, 2023, according to court documents.
The red pickup was stopped on a traffic infraction and was subsequently searched after a K9 alerted to the presence of controlled substances.
That search yielded a backpack containing approximately 120 grams of meth, 40 grams of heroin, several M-30 pills, a scale and “hundreds of clean, unused baggies,” according to court documents.
Eslick has been charged with two counts of VUCSA by possession with intent to deliver or manufacture a controlled substance.
At the time of his arrest on Thursday, Aug. 3, Eslick was reportedly out of custody on conditions of release for unrelated second-degree assault and non-felony offenses, according to court documents.
Commissioner Paul Strophy ruled Friday that, due to the alleged amount of controlled substances involved, each suspect posed a significant community safety risk. Due to their respective criminal histories, Eslick’s bail was set at $100,000, Pierce’s at $30,00 per case for a total of $60,000, Ferguson’s at $50,000 and Pender’s at $25,000.
Each defendant has a separate arraignment hearing scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 10. JNET’s investigation is ongoing, the organization stated Friday in a news release.
“The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team is committed to identifying and arresting those who choose to sell and distribute poisonous drugs in our communities,” JNET stated in the release.
Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to call Centralia police at 360-330-7680 or Lewis County Communications at 360-740-1105.
JNET is a multi-jurisdictional task force made up of detectives from the Centralia and Chehalis police departments, Washington Department of Corrections and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Local resources for substance abuse disorders and recovery can be found through the Recovery Navigator Program at https://www.grbhaso.org/rnp or by calling the crisis line at 1-800-803-8833.
Information about the dangers of fentanyl can be found at https://www.dea.gov/factsheets/fentanyl.
