Dating back to 2019, the Thurston County Narcotics Task Force had opened two criminal investigations into an illegal marijuana-grow operation inside an Olympia home.
Hieu Huynh, as the homeowner, faced criminal prosecution and the threat of having his property seized by authorities. Instead, Huynh entered into a settlement agreement. He would sell the home and give the task force $250,000 from the proceeds, according to Thurston County Superior Court records.
Huynh, who was not criminally charged in connection to the marijuana grow, paid only $150,000 of the settlement, court records show. Now, Thurston County is seeking to collect the remainder of the promised funds through a new means: a home that Huynh owns in Lakewood.
The county and its sheriff sued Huynh for breach of contract, alleging that he failed to pay the full amount of the settlement. The suit, which was filed late last year, sought damages of no less than the $100,000 that the county says it's still owed, and legal fees.
Last month, the plaintiffs were awarded a $105,000 default judgment in Thurston County Superior Court, records show.
To ensure that payment was received, the county also requested a writ of attachment on a property Huynh owns in Lakewood, which would enable authorities to seize it until the case is resolved.
In the October 2023 complaint against Huynh, the county noted that the home in the 8900 block of Gravelly Lake Drive Southwest in Lakewood was listed for sale and that if the county was to win the lawsuit, "it will be necessary to attach that real property to this action as a surety against the monies owed" by Huynh.
The lawsuit, as it relates to the writ of attachment, remains ongoing and was moved to Pierce County Superior Court on Sept. 19, according to court records.
Tara Tsehlana, a spokesperson for the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, said that the office didn't comment on pending litigation.
Reached by text message Thursday at a number that a court record showed belonged to him, Huynh said that he was struggling with finances but had borrowed $60,000 from a friend that he planned to imminently pay toward his settlement balance.
"I don't know what I can do and (who) can help me out with that," Huynh wrote in a text message. "I try my best."
Plants seized, four sentenced
Under Washington state law, properties used for the manufacture or distribution of controlled substances are subjected to seizure and forfeiture, meaning the government can take it.
In 2019 and 2021, Huynh's home in the 6100 block of Lemon Road Northeast in Olympia allegedly was being used with his knowledge and consent for illegally growing marijuana, court records show. The county's task force, a multi-jurisdiction partnership, seized nearly 3,300 plants in total between two busts, representing a street value of $4.6 million, according to a court declaration from a Washington State Patrol sergeant assigned to the task force.
At least four people were charged as a result of the investigations and sentenced to 30 days in jail upon being convicted of crimes ranging from malicious mischief to unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance, court records show.
Authorities sought to seize Huynh's home in Olympia, but the county and Huynh reached the quarter-million-dollar settlement in December 2022. Huynh was represented at the time by a lawyer who has since resigned from the bar rather than face unrelated allegations that he stole two clients' money, Washington State Bar Association records show.
After the home was sold, Huynh made a $150,000 payment to the task force in June 2023 and indicated that he was broke, according to court records. A task force lieutenant estimated that Huynh should have received about $500,000 from the property sale after deductions, including outstanding mortgage payment, taxes and fees.
Huynh told the lieutenant that he owed money to friends and family — borrowed for construction improvements to the property in advance of the sale — and he chose to reimburse them before fulfilling his obligation to the task force, court records show.
Huynh was afforded six months to pay off the balance to the task force, through an addendum to the settlement agreement, but then reportedly went silent. The task force regularly and unsuccessfully attempted to contact him over a two-month period about the outstanding payment, an October 2023 court filing shows.
"His whereabouts are unknown," the filing said.
Huynh told The News Tribune on Thursday that he had been in recent contact with the task force.
In an email, Thurston County Sheriff's Department Lt. Mike Brooks confirmed that was true: A task force lieutenant had spoken with Huynh on Thursday, Brooks said.
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