The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) made three additional arrests this week related to an investigation into a Lewis County meth operation.
“JNET detectives anticipate more arrests in the near future,” JNET said Thursday in a news release.
So far, the investigation has resulted in JNET recovering over 2 pounds of meth, nine firearms, four pipe bombs, 55 grams of fentanyl powder and 1 ounce of heroin, according to JNET.
“The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team is committed to identifying and arresting those who choose to sell and distribute poisonous drugs in our communities,” JNET said in the news release.
Charges against two new suspects, identified as Chanteel C. Lang, 29, of Centralia, and Damion E. Robbins, 46, of Chehalis, were filed in Lewis County Superior Court on Wednesday.
One additional suspect, identified as Jeffrey Jerome Johnson, 61, of Centralia, was charged Thursday.
Lang faces one count each of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to manufacture or deliver, tampering with evidence and endangerment with a controlled substance.
Robbins faces one count of delivery of a controlled substance. Johnson faces one count of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to manufacture or deliver.
Lang is accused of coordinating with Michael Deal, 41, of Centralia, and Angela L. Folden, 46, of Chehalis, to move evidence related to JNET’s investigation into the meth operation between Nov. 22 and Nov. 27.
Deal was arrested Nov. 21 alongside co-defendants Jose Francisco Lopez Jr., 46, of Everett, and Aniesa Lee Stamper, 27, of Chehalis, on Nov. 21 after JNET executed search warrants on two properties and a vehicle in Lewis County. The three co-defendants are accused of selling meth within the boundaries of Lewis County between Feb. 1 and Nov. 21.
Deal allegedly spoke with Folden and Lang via the jail’s phone system on Nov. 22 and arranged to have Folden and Lang “move incriminating evidence that had not been located by JNET,” according to court documents.
Investigators with the Centralia Police Department checked the area around Lang’s residence on Nov. 22 and a K9 reportedly alerted to the presence of controlled substances around a Ford Explorer driven by Lang, according to court documents.
The Ford Explorer was the same vehicle JNET detectives searched while executing search warrants on Nov. 21.
A detective contacted Lang, who “stated she believed the narcotics were in the black suitcase she recovered from Ms. Folden,” according to court documents.
A 6-year-old child was reportedly in the vehicle when detectives contacted Lang, who was the driver.
Investigators later executed a search warrant on the vehicle, which yielded eight firearms, an oil filter silencer and a black Pelican case containing approximately one pound of suspected meth, 55 grams of suspected fentanyl, 25 grams of suspected heroin, and “a tan tote,” according to court documents.
The tote reportedly contained a firework and “two plastic pipe bombs and two metal pipe bombs,” according to court documents. One of the pipe bombs “had yellow tape wrapped around it and wires affixed to it.”
The Washington State Patrol and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms responded and, during their investigation, “they determined there were three operational explosive devices, which would have caused a large explosion if detonated,” according to court documents. The fourth pipe bomb reportedly did not have any explosives inside.
The evidence recovered from the vehicle, including the meth, guns and bombs, were allegedly removed from Deal’s storage unit after Deal’s arrest, according to court documents.
Security footage from the storage unit reportedly shows Lang and Folden at the unit in the Ford Explorer after Deal’s arrest, according to court documents. Folden was arrested Monday, Nov. 27 and was in custody at the Lewis County Jail on $25,000 bail as of Wednesday afternoon.
Jail records indicate Lang was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail at 4:40 p.m. on Nov. 28. Bail was set at $50,000 in Lewis County Superior Court on Wednesday.
A no-contact order between Lang and the 6-year-old, who is in a relative’s custody, is in place.
Lang indicated she was “extremely interested” in the Lewis County Drug Court during her preliminary hearing on Wednesday.
Deal was initially charged Nov. 22 with one count each of delivery of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture or deliver.
Due to the evidence recovered from the Ford Explorer that Lang was driving, Deal was charged Nov. 29 with three more counts of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to manufacture or deliver as well as three counts of possession of an explosive device. He was also charged Nov. 29 with one count of first-degree possession of a stolen vehicle for allegedly hiding a stolen trailer that detectives found on Nov. 21, and one count of unlawful fortification for allegedly having the door to his shop barricaded when detectives executed a search warrant on Nov. 21.
A search of the stolen trailer “revealed evidence of manufacturing bombs and printing counterfeit money,” according to JNET.
Deal pleaded not guilty to all charges on Thursday, Nov. 30 and trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 18.
Robbins was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail at 5:05 p.m. on Nov. 28, according to jail records.
The arrest occurred after Deal allegedly identified Deal as one of his dealers in an interview with detectives after his arrest on Nov. 21, according to court documents.
Robbins is accused of taking one pound of meth from Deal and returning with $1,500 in cash. In a report referenced in the affidavit of probable cause, a detective noted “prior to this statement, Mr. Deal had been honest about who other customers were and how he paid $1,000 per pound of methamphetamine and then sold the methamphetamine for $1,500 per pound.”
When contacted by JNET detectives, Robbins allegedly “admitted to obtaining one pound of methamphetamine from Mr. Deal on November 19th,” and to reselling it to Johnson at an RV park in Centralia for $1,600, according to court documents. Robbins allegedly “confirmed he made $100 profit.”
Johnson was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail just before noon on Nov. 29, according to jail records.
Due to his extensive criminal history, which includes 53 prior warrants and six recent felony convictions, and the amount of drugs allegedly involved in the case, Yeager set bail for Robbins at $150,000 on Wednesday.
“He desperately wants to be in a drug treatment program,” defense attorney Rachael Tiller said of Robbins on Wednesday.
Due to his criminal history and his alleged involvement in the larger case, Johnson’s bail was set at $100,000 on Thursday.
“Mr. Johnson would like the court to be aware that even after that police contact (on Nov. 21) he stayed put, police knew where to find him, there were no issues with the arrest, and I think that speaks volume,” Tiller said of Johnson on Thursday.
Arraignment hearings for Lang, Robbins and Johnson are scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 7.
An additional suspect, a 59 year-old Centralia man who owns the property where Deal was arrested Nov. 21, was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail on Nov. 22 for violating his conditions of release for an unrelated 2021 drug case.
Possible possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture or deliver and unlawful use of a building for drug purposes charges related to this case were pending as of Thursday afternoon, according to JNET.
“This is an ongoing investigation and no other information is being released at this time,” JNET said Thursday in the news release. JNET encourages anyone with information related to the investigation to call the Centralia Police Department at 360-330-7680, or Lewis County Communications at 360-740-1105.
