A 42-year-old man accused of dealing fentanyl in the Olympia area is being held in Thurston County jail in lieu of $15,000 bail.
The Thurston County Narcotics Task Force arrested the man Tuesday near the intersection of Columbia Street and Fourth Avenue in downtown Olympia. Court records indicate the man went by the alias "Jake from State Farm."
Detectives booked the man into the county jail on suspicion of two counts of unlawful possession of controlled substance with intent to deliver and attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle. He's accused of dealing fentanyl and methamphetamine, according to court records.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that's 50-100 times stronger than morphine and often mixed with other drugs. County officials have blamed the substance for a concerning trend of overdose deaths in recent years. Task force detectives arrested another man accused of similar crimes in Olympia on Monday.
On Wednesday, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Sharonda Amamilo found probable cause for the alleged crimes and set the bail amount. Amamilo determined the man could not be released on his personal recognizance because he may seek to intimidate witnesses or interfere in the case.
The man has an adult criminal history that dates back to 2005. Most recently, a Thurston County deputy arrested him on Jan. 14 on suspicion of two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, according to court records.
In that case, a deputy alleged he carried what appeared to be cocaine and methamphetamine in south Thurston County. Amamilo ordered he be released on his personal recognizance on Jan. 16.
A probable cause statement describes the investigation that led to the man's Tuesday arrest from the perspective of law enforcement.
The narcotics task force began investigating the man in January. The statement says detectives arranged for a confidential informant to purchase two substances from the man during the week of Jan. 7-13.
The substances allegedly field tested positive for methamphetamine and fentanyl, according to the statement.
At 4:20 p.m. Tuesday, detectives moved to arrest the man while he was parked on Columbia Street, just south of Fourth Avenue in downtown Olympia.
A detective approached the man in an unmarked vehicle with their lights and siren activated. Meanwhile, another detective blocked the roadway in front of the man with their vehicle, also with their lights and sirens on.
Detective reported that the man "rapidly accelerated" and tried to make a "high-speed U-turn" to flee north on Columbia Street. The statement notes the man crossed a double yellow line in the road at a "very highly populated time with lots of traffic."
The detective stationed behind the man's vehicle collided with the driver door of the man's vehicle as he attempted to flee. The move stopped the vehicle and caused "significant damage" to the driver door, according to the statement.
The man surrendered to detectives "without further incident," according to the statement. He allegedly admitted to having over 100 fentanyl pills and gave detectives permission to search his vehicle.
Detectives allegedly found $700 in the man's pants pocket and recovered a bag in a chip can from the vehicle, according to the statement. The bag allegedly held about 382 blue pills marked with "M 30," a common marker for fentanyl pills. The statement says the pills field tested positive for fentanyl.
Detectives also reported recovering 26 bar-like pills that were suspected to be alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax, as well as another bag of blue "M 30" pills suspected to be fentanyl.
The statement says detectives found several shards of a glazed white crystalline substance in the chip can too. A field test allegedly yielded a positive result for methamphetamine.
Additional items listed as found in the vehicle included unused plastic bags, two blue smart phones and a black operable digital scale with "DON'T DO DRUGS" written across it.
Prosecutors had until 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2, to charge the man for the alleged crimes. If he is charged, court records indicate he will be arraigned on Feb. 13.
The Thurston County Narcotics Task Force is a multi-jurisdictional law enforcement partnership, according to its website. It includes the Thurston County Sheriff's Office and Prosecuting Attorney's Office; Washington State Patrol; Washington state Department of Community Corrections; the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Marshals Service.
