The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and Washington State Patrol arrested three people and seized marijuana plants, growing equipment and $7,500 in cash west of Chehalis on Wednesday, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
The arrests came after a Lewis County deputy responded to a report from a neighbor earlier that day claiming dogs were roaming onto their property in the 3700 block of state Route 6, according to court documents.
The deputy went to speak with the apparent dog owners at about 9 a.m. on Feb. 23. When the deputy rolled down his car window to speak to a man outside the property, the deputy “immediately notice(d) the overwhelming odor of growing marijuana.”
According to court documents, the deputy “knew what the odor of fresh marijauna smelled like” because he had over 20 years of experience as a reserve deputy sheriff.
The deputy reportedly warned the man, who was identified as Jianyi Chen, about keeping his dogs from wandering off of his property and then left.
The deputy reported that he’d detected the odor of marijuana to his command, prompting Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputies and the Washington State Patrol Marijuana Eradication Team to obtain a search warrant for the residence and the two outbuildings on the property, according to court documents.
Ultimately, a total of more than 3,000 marijuana plants were found in a grow operation within both outbuildings on the property, according to court documents.
“This was a sophisticated, substantial grow operation, the likes of which I haven’t encountered before,” Sheriff Rob Snaza said. “This was another great example of our partnership with the Washington State Patrol Marijuana Enforcement Team in preventing the unlawful production of marijuana in our community.”
Three individuals — Shangchun Lin, 46, of Chehalis; Yanping Liang Lin, 41, of Seattle; and Huizhen Chen, 41, of Renton — were reportedly found in the outbuilding.
The three reportedly told detectives they had been living in the residence for approximately one month.
“They said they met a man over a meal who offered to let them stay in the home in exchange for watering the plants,” according to court documents.
Records show the owner of the house is Meiya Tan, of Renton, who was associated with a marijuana growing operation in Renton in 2016, according to court documents.
“The state’s assertion is that Meiya Tan is supplying the buildings (in the 3700 block of) SR 6 for growing marijuana, and that the three subjects mentioned were aiding Ms. Tan in growing marijuana illegally,” reads a statement in the affidavits of probable cause for the three suspects.
All three were arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail at approximately 8:50 p.m. on Feb. 23.
They have each been charged with manufacture of marijuana and unlawful use of a building for drug-related purposes. Both charges are Class C felonies with a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Defense Attorney Rachael Tiller asked Judge James Lawler to release each of the suspects on unsecured bail due to their lack of criminal history, but Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher asked for $5,000 bail out of concern for their lack of connection to Lewis County.
“Of concern to the state is that the defendant appears to have no ties whatsoever to this community,” said Meagher at Shangchun Lin’s preliminary hearing on Feb. 24. He repeated the same argument for Yangping Liang Lin and Chun, who also had preliminary hearings on Feb. 24.
Lawler set bail at $5,000 for each of the three codefendants and scheduled arraignment hearings for Thursday, March 3.
The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against Tan, who is not in custody, on Feb. 24.
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office asks that anyone with information about unlawful marijuana manufacturing in Lewis County call the sheriff’s office at 360-748-9286.
