Yesterday, deputies with our Special Investigations Unit assisted the FBI’s South Sound Gang Task Force and the Department of Corrections in arresting a suspect who had a felony warrant for violating the conditions of his community custody.
Investigators had received a tip that the suspect was staying in a motel in the 6800 block of Tacoma Mall Blvd, was heavily armed, and was selling large amounts of drugs.
The arrest team spotted the suspect in a vehicle in the motel parking lot. They pinned him in with their vehicles and arrested him for his warrant. Inside the vehicle, officers located a stolen handgun.
Since the suspect is on community custody, DOC officers decided to conduct a compliance check on the three rooms he had rented. Inside, they found 90 pounds of methamphetamine and 5 pounds of fentanyl powder. Investigators estimate that the fentanyl powder could have produced hundreds of thousands of pills.
Additional items were collected from the room as evidence, including: $19,000 cash, 4 firearms, a suppressor (silencer), assorted ammunition and magazines, 11 passports and drug packaging materials.
The 43-year-old suspect was booked into jail for unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, and unlawful possession of a firearm.
