Four men were arrested Wednesday for alleged involvement in the overdose death of a 26-year-old Centralia man, the Centralia Police Department announced Thursday.
The victim has not been identified by the Centralia Police Department.
Centralia officers were dispatched to a residence in the 300 block of South Pearl Street at approximately 8:40 a.m. on Nov. 2 after the victim’s roommate reported the victim was unconscious and not breathing, according to a news release from the Centralia Police Department. Medics declared the victim was deceased, with signs of a drug overdose being the cause of death, according to the news release.
Detectives immediately launched a controlled substance homicide investigation and, due to the suspicion that fentanyl was involved, detectives requested assistance from the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET), according to the news release.
Evidence reportedly led detectives to contact Timothy May, 32, of Centralia, who was arrested for his involvement in the death investigation, according to the news release.
“Through their investigation, detectives learned that May had recently traded a high capacity semi-automatic rifle to drug dealers for the illegal drugs,” the Centralia Police Department stated in the news release.
May was booked into the Lewis County Jail at 2 p.m. on Nov. 2 for controlled substance homicide, suspected fentanyl.
Further evidence in this investigation led Centralia detectives and JNET to an address outside of Winlock in the 700 block of Winlock-Vader Road, where they arrested Brady Hunter, 30, and William Jones, 34, both of Winlock, for alleged possession of fentanyl with the intent to deliver.
Both were booked into the Lewis County Jail at approximately 6 p.m. on Nov. 2, according to jal records.
Detectives and JNET identified another residence outside of Winlock, in the 900 block of Byham Road, as a location where a subject was living who was connected to the drugs traded to May, according to the news release. Law enforcement located May’s firearm at this location and arrested Jackie Dean, 55, of Winlock, for alleged possession of fentanyl with the intent to deliver and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Dean was booked into the Lewis County Jail just before 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 2, according to jail records.
In total, the investigation resulted in the seizure of five firearms and the recovery of more than 100 suspected fentanyl pills, according to the Centralia Police Department.
“The poisonous effects of fentanyl are killing individuals and devastating families,” wrote the Centralia Police Department, “With the recent amounts of deadly fentanyl that have been seized in our area, the Centralia Police Department and JNET have made it a priority to not only reduce the manufacturing, distributing, and transporting illegal drugs and guns within our community, but to also identify and arrest all the subjects who involved in the delivery of illegal deadly drugs like fentanyl.”
CPD detectives and JNET continued to follow developing leads and the investigation is ongoing, according to the news release.
Anyone with possible information on the incident is encouraged to call the Centralia Police Department at 360-330-7680, or Lewis County Communications at 360-740-1105.
