A Chehalis man arrested in October as part of a Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) investigation has pleaded guilty to one count of delivery of a controlled substance, heroin.
The defendant, John L. McNeal, was charged after he reportedly sold heroin to a JNET informant in July 2020 and confidential sources reportedly confirmed they had purchased heroin from McNeal in the weeks that followed.
At the time of McNeal’s arrest in October, officers reportedly found nearly a pound of heroin in his possession.
Police had suspected that McNeal sold the heroin responsible for an overdose that killed a man in August, but McNeal was never charged in the man’s death.
He had initially been charged with two counts of delivery of a controlled substance, heroin; conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance, heroin; possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture or deliver, heroin; and possession of a controlled substance, fentanyl.
All charges except the single count of delivery of a controlled substance have been dropped.
“Between July 1, 2020 and August 30, 2020, in Lewis County, Washington, I knowingly delivered heroin to another person,” said McNeal in a written guilty plea submitted in court on June 30.
He will serve 80 months in jail concurrently with jail time associated with a Thurston County case, followed by 12 months in community custody.
