Two people are charged with felony drug violations after law enforcement last week say they seized 13 pounds and more than 30,000 pills of illegal drugs in a vehicle off Interstate 5’s exit 39 in Kelso.
Natasha Louise Djordjevic, 40, of Lakewood, and Richard Lee Ernsting, 40, of Tacoma, each were charged Tuesday in Cowlitz County Superior Court with two counts of violating the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. Detectives say they found $350,000 worth of drugs in the vehicle the pair was in during a traffic stop.
According to a police report, Longview officers and Cowlitz County deputies arrested the pair on July 14 after they were pulled over at around 7:30 p.m. in the 1400 block of Allen Street in Kelso, near the I-5 exit, a park and ride and a Dutch Bros Coffee shop. A Kelso Police Department K-9 detected the smell of controlled substance in the pair’s maroon Acura SUV, reports Longview police.
Detectives knew the make and model of the SUV Djordjevic was driving because a source working with law enforcement ordered drugs from what detectives called “a known supplier,” who said Djordjevic would drop off the stash, according to a police report. Ernsting was in the passenger seat.
After receiving a search warrant, detectives say they found $27,000 in cash, 11 pounds of crystal meth, two pounds of heroin and more than 30,000 fentanyl pills disguised as oxycodone in the vehicle. A backpack found near Ernsting’s feet had drugs inside and a ledger of payments and names, the report states. All of the drugs have an estimated $350,000 street value.
Djordjevic and Ernsting each have separate arraignments scheduled for July 28 in Cowlitz County Superior Court.
The investigation was a partnership between Longview Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit and the sheriff office’s detective unit called the Cowlitz County Crime Reduction Team.
