A Mexican immigrant who was accused of trafficking cocaine in Lewis County and was held without bail at the Lewis County Jail for nearly six days has been released into the custody of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), according to jail records.
The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office declined to file local charges against the defendant, identified in court records as Jose Ramirez Picazo, following an investigative hold.
The investigative hold approved by a Lewis County Superior Court judge on Friday, Feb. 14, mandated that Ramirez Picazo be released from local custody by 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19, if the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office did not file charges against Ramirez Picazo before then.
He was released into DEA custody at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19, according to jail records.
Federal agents and detectives with the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) executed a search warrant on the home of Ramirez Picazo in Centralia on Feb. 13 and reportedly found three firearms, $8,000 in cash, multiple suspected forged Social Security cards and multiple suspected counterfeit permanent residence cards bearing his name, according to documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court on Friday. They also reportedly found documents showing Ramirez Picazo was born in Mexico.
Detectives began investigating Ramirez Picazo, who has been identified as a possible cocaine trafficker, in November 2024, according to court documents.
Investigators allege that during the investigation, Ramirez Picazo “delivered suspected cocaine to a confidential source within the boundaries of Lewis County,” according to court documents.
He was also allegedly seen at a gun store in Centralia, where he allegedly handled three firearms.
Information on the status of Ramirez Picazo’s federal case was not publicly available as of Wednesday afternoon.
