UPDATED: Suspect Held on $1M Bail in Most Recent Meth Bust

A suspect arrested driving a truck filled with more than 50 pounds of methamphetamine near Napavine Wednesday made his first appearance Thursday afternoon in Lewis County Superior Court. 

Antonio D. Beltran-Villanueva, 25, of Portland, Oregon, was formally charged Thursday with possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver. 

Superior Court Judge James Lawler ordered Beltran-Villanueva held on $1 million bail while his case is ongoing. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 17.

Beltran-Villanueva was arrested Wednesday as part of an investigation by the Lewis County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team, Oregon law enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations. 

According to a news release and court documents, a detective learned that the suspect would be driving north on I-5 with more than 40 pounds of methamphetamine. 

Officers  conducted a traffic stop Wednesday on a green Chevrolet truck with Oregon license plates near Napavine on I-5. The driver, Beltran-Villanueva, did not have a valid driver’s license. Lewis County Sheriff’s Deputy Rick Van Wyck and K9 partner Axel, who is trained to detect narcotics, responded and Axel alerted to the presence of drugs.

Beltran-Villanueva was reportedly cooperative and allowed officers to search the truck. They found more than 50 pounds of methamphetamine. 

This is the third major meth bust in the past few weeks.

On April 26, JNET officers stopped a semi truck traveling through Lewis County on Interstate 5 and found 126 pounds of methamphetamine and thousands of Oxycodone pills. Two suspects — Carlos Alejandro Luna-Rodriguez, 22, of Mexicali, Mexico and Bernardo Olivas-Leyva, 62, of Fontana, California — were arrested and charged with felony drug crimes. 

Olivas-Leyva is currently scheduled to go to trial in June. Luna-Rodriguez’ arraignment is scheduled for June 14. 

Then, on May 3, JNET contacted three occupants of two vehicles at a parking lot off I-5 in Chehalis, eventually seizing 23 pounds of methamphetamine and more than two pounds of heroin.

In that case, Juan Fernando Campos-Campos, 29, of Vancouver, Washington, Manuel Rojas-Valdez, 22, of Rialto, California and Jose Luis Felix-Gonzalez, 52, of Stone Park, Illinois, have all been charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver.

On Thursday, all three suspects in that case pleaded not guilty in Lewis County Superior Court. At their joint arraignment, defense attorney Don Blair, representing Felix-Gonzalez, entered a plea on behalf of his client, advising the man not to speak at all. 

“I’ve instructed him not to say anything,” Blair said. “I have my reasons.”

Blair raised concerns about how the investigation is being handled, noting that he has only received reports on the three men’s arrests from local law enforcement officers, saying federal officers participating in the investigation have refused to provide their own accounts. 

Furthermore, Blair said he had reason to believe there was a fourth subject along with Campos-Campos, Rojas-Valdez and Felix-Gonzalez in the parking lot that day, who was neither arrested nor mentioned in any official report of the arrest. 

Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Joel DeFazio said he would look into the issue. 

All six suspects are currently in custody in the Lewis County Jail pending future hearings.