Kittitas County Cops Make Big Drug Bust
A man is in jail after what police in Kittitas County are calling one of the largest drug busts they've had in recent memory on Tuesday morning.
The incident began when a deputy from the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office noticed a pickup truck parked in a handicap space at a mini mart in the 1300 block of Dolarway Road in Ellensburg without a disabled parking placard.
After running the vehicle's license plate, the deputy discovered it had been stolen out of Auburn and also noticed what appeared to be illicit drugs on the front seat.
The deputy then entered the mini mart and was told by the clerk that the truck's two occupants - a man and a woman - had been in the store when he arrived but subsequently ran out a back door.
Sheriff's Inspector Christopher Whitsett says while assisting officers pursued the pair, a search of the truck by the deputy turned up a wealth of narcotics.
"He found several ounces of what we believe are cocaine and heroin, as well as a couple hundred fentanyl pills, and a big baggie with one-point-eight pounds of what we believe is methamphetamine. It's the most meth I've ever seen in fifteen years on the force."
Whitsett adds the street value of the drugs is considerable and the sheriff's office is very pleased to have kept such a large amount of narcotics from getting distributed.
"The street value of this whole haul is at least thirty-thousand dollars. We're extremely glad that this is not going to be filtering into our community. Every one of those pills and other drugs represents a potential overdose, and we've seen far too many of those in Washington State in recent years."
Police tracked down 57-year-old Michael W. Turlington of Federal Way about a mile away from the mini-mart and arrested him for Possession of a Stolen Motor Vehicle and Possession of Controlled Substances with Intent to Deliver.
Whitsett says the female suspect managed to elude capture but the sheriff's office has positively identified her.
"She is someone who we have arrested numerous times before, so we know where she hangs out and how to arrest her, and rest assured...we will."
Turlington is currently being held in the Kittitas County Jail and the sheriff's office added that it hasn't forgotten about issuing a $450 citation for his parking of the alleged stolen truck in a handicap zone.
