Judge Orders $100,000 Bail for Alleged Chehalis Heroin Dealer

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A Chehalis man is being held on $100,000 bail on charges that he sold heroin in a school zone.

Christopher Charles Tortorici, 36, was charged Tuesday in Lewis County Superior Court with two counts of delivery of a controlled substance — heroin — within 1,000 feet of a school bus route stop.

Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt imposed $100,000 bail — three times the amount requested by the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office — citing the fact that Tortorici is a drug court graduate.

“We have an admitted multi-dealer of heroin,” Hunt said Tuesday. “We have an untreated heroin dealer living in our community; $100,000 is certainly warranted.”

A second Chehalis resident, Dawn Marie Barnett, also known as Dawn Marie Morningstar, was scheduled to make her first appearance in the case on three counts of delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school bus route stop.

Barnett’s charges include an additional aggravating factor — that the offense was a “major violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act … related to trafficking in controlled substances, which was more onerous than the typical offense of its statutory definition.”

Barnett was reportedly sick from withdrawal and could not come to court. She will be held on no bail until she makes a preliminary appearance.

According to court documents, detectives orchestrated two controlled buys of heroin from Barnett with the help of a confidential informant between Aug. 24 and Sept. 11 and between Sept. 14 and Oct. 5.

Barnett and Tortorici were present for both sales, one of which occurred in their home, according to court documents.

Barnett reportedly told police both she and Tortorici were supporting themselves by selling heroin, and that they sold to about 10 people a day.

Tortorici’s next court appearance is scheduled for Thursday.