Xiao Yu Jackson, 42, of Seattle, was connected to several more properties that law enforcement had discovered were illegal indoor manufacturing operations.
Three people have been charged in connection to an illegal marijuana growing operation in Centralia that was connected to other illegal growing operations in King, Pierce and Kitsap counties, and potentially to the distribution market in New York.
In total, over 4,000 marijuana plants were seized from multiple properties as a result of the investigation.
Detectives with the Joint Narcotic Enforcement Team (JNET) served a search warrant for an address in the 1000 block of Duffy Street in Centralia on Feb. 24, 2020, and found 770 growing marijuana plants, along with equipment for growing large amounts of marijuana indoors. The residence’s two occupants, Chunjian Sun, 21, and Shibo Jin, 28, both had New York passports, and Jin told an assisting Lewis County Sheriff’s Office detective that “his boss in New York told him to come to Washington state and maintain the growing marijuana,” according to Lewis County Superior Court documents.
Jin said that he was paid $3,000 per month to maintain the growing marijuana and that “his boss in California, ‘Terry,’ pays him.”
An investigation into the owner of the Duffy Street property revealed that the real estate agent who had helped them secure the property, Xiao Yu Jackson, 42, of Seattle, was connected to several more properties that law enforcement had discovered were illegal indoor manufacturing operations.
A search warrant on Jackson’s cellphone account yielded information on five addresses spread across King, Pierce and Kitsap counties — four of which yielded large, indoor marijuana grows, according to court documents. In total, 3,114 marijuana plants were seized from these properties.
When questioned by a JNET detective, Jackson allegedly gave information on three more marijuana grow sites in Washington, including at her Seattle home. According to court documents, “Jackson said that the people living in the houses were called ‘farmers.’ She said they earn between $3,000 and $5,000 per month. Jackson said that when the farmers harvested the marijuana, ‘transporters’ transport the finished product to New York, where it is distributed.”
JNET detectives, along with DEA and Homeland Security, conducted a search on one of Jackson’s properties, an Auburn address, and found over 700 mature marijuana plants.
Jackson, Sun and Jin were each charged with one count of manufacture of marijuana and one count of unlawful use of a building for drug purposes. All three were scheduled for preliminary appearances in Lewis County Superior Court on Feb. 2, but neither Sun nor Jin were present. Judge J. Andrew Toynbee issued warrants for their arrest.
Jackson is currently out of custody and scheduled for arraignment and trial setting on Feb. 18.
