Andrew Carlson, the biological father of missing 5-year-old Oakville girl Oakley Carlson, has been sentenced to 12 months in prison after pleading guilty earlier this month to charges unrelated to Oakley.
In addition to the prison sentence, Carlson will be required to undergo a chemical dependency evaluation within 45 days of his release and complete any recommended treatment.
Upon his release, he will not be allowed to possess controlled substances without a prescription and will not be allowed to have unsupervised contact with children under 18. Judge Katherine Svoboda granted Carlson an exception to have contact with his biological children, pending separate dependency hearings. He is allowed to have contact with his 11-year-old child from his previous marriage.
“I would like to say that I deeply regret my failings as a father,” Carlson said. “I haven’t done a lot of things correctly in the last seven years or so. I’m very ready to turn that around and if I can’t be a father to my children at least I can be an example they can look at and say I did the right thing.”
Carlson had been charged alongside Oakley’s biological mother, Jordan Bowers, with one count of second-degree abandonment of a dependent child for allegedly neglecting to give their 6-year-old daughter a prescribed medication, and two counts of endangerment with a controlled substance for allegedly exposing their 6-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son to methamphetamine.
Carlson pleaded guilty to the two counts of endangerment with a controlled substance on March 14. The second-degree abandonment charge was dismissed.
The dismissal of that charge was “a significant benefit to (Carlson),” said Deputy Prosecutor Jason Walker, who recommended that Svobada sentence Carlson on the high end of the 6- to 12-month sentencing range.
“These cases are frustrating for the court because we are limited by what the prosecutor brings before us and what the Legislature gives us as sentencing authority,” said Svoboda on Monday, adding that, despite the crimes being Class C felonies, her only option to sentence Carlson outside of that 6 to 12 month standard range would be to grant him a first-time offender waiver — which would reduce his jail sentence to a 0 to 90 day range but would place him on community custody.
Svoboda said community custody would have been a benefit because “I’m not convinced you are going to follow through unless someone is watching.” She said the 0 to 90 day sentencing range allowed by the first-time offender waiver was not fitting to the crime.
“Based on the limitations before me, I’m going to do the most that I can,” she said, later adding, “I don’t know how you dig yourself out of this, Mr. Carlson, but you’ve earned every day.”
Carlson, who has been in custody on $150,000 bail since his initial arrest on Dec. 6, is eligible for early release in August.
“On behalf of Mr. Andrew Carlson in this matter, he comes before you today humble, very sensitive,” said Carlson’s attorney, Jonathan Feste, during Carlson’s sentencing hearing on Monday.
Feste stated that Carlson has been cooperative with police and that in the 3 1/2 months since his arrest “there’s been much opportunity for (Carlson) to have a clear head.”
When informing the court that Carlson intended to give a brief statement, Feste said, “He is under advice to be careful of words. We obviously know there are more things associated with this matter. We simply want to acknowledge for the community the great pain that is felt, that there is compassion for children who are placed in such risky environments. He cannot undo the past seven years but if he can take constructive steps going forward, I think Mr. Walker has shown grace with this matter.”
He added, “this is a tragic situation in so many ways. We ask the court to use its wisdom and apply the right decision for both the interests of the community and for the defendant.”
Carlson is a former officer with the Aberdeen Police Department who was decommissioned in 2017 for making false and misleading statements, according to reporting by FOX 13.
“Mr. Carlson’s downfall has an element of Greek mythology in it. Not so much fall from the heavens — Mr. Carlson had a good job as a police officer — but I’d say more like Odysseus failing to lash himself to the mast of his ship and resisting the call of the siren, so to speak,” said Jason Walker.
“But it wasn’t just that he failed to resist that call, he went down a very deep hole, including drug use, for a man who probably saw the effects of that substance on a daily basis when he was a police officer.”
Analysis of hair follicle samples taken from the couple’s 6-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son on Dec. 10 revealed both children had been exposed to methamphetamine within three months of the test.
The 6-year-old’s hair follicle showed 5,186 pictograms of methamphetamine and the 2-year-old’s hair follicle showed at least 10,000 pictograms — which is the maximum the lab results can show — according to court records obtained by The Daily World.
“These numbers are extremely high and consistent with a child who has ingested methamphetamine, although they are not inconsistent with a child who has been passively exposed to the drug,” stated Dr. Joyce Gilbert of the Providence Sexual Assault and Maltreatment Clinic in files obtained by The Daily World.
The amount of methamphetamine found within the 2-year-old’s hair follicle was “more consistent with ingestion,” according to the files.
Both children were taken into Child Protective Services’ custody when Bowers and Carlson were initially arrested on suspicion of manslaughter on Dec. 6.
Bowers and Carlson both have a history of methamphetamine use and have told detectives that they recently relapsed.
“The evidence that I have is that he was the more responsible of the two parents, and I think his plea shows that I think he felt responsible,” said Walker, adding that when he is away from Bowers and without access to drugs, “he does the responsible thing, as he did in this case.”
Walker clarified that the “responsible thing” in this case was pleading guilty.
“This is a tragic situation but not because Mr. Carlson is sitting here, it’s what these two children went through, and someone with any kind of law enforcement background knows how dangerous and destructive methamphetamine is and the idea that that would be used in a home with young children when you know how contaminating it is and how dangerous it is. The sentencing statement submitted by Mr. Carlson denied that he ever used methamphetamine around the children and tries to place the blame solely on Ms. Bowers. However, in any condition, it’s a father’s job to protect their children and you certainly failed in that, Mr. Carlson,” said Svoboda.
Carlson’s next court appearance on this case is a chemical dependency evaluation hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. on Sept. 12.
“If you don’t get that, there’s simply no hope that you’re ever going to appear before me again,” Svoboda said.
Dependency court has also required Carlson to obtain a chemical dependency evaluation and undergo any recommended treatment “If he ever wants to see his children by his co-defendant again,” said Walker.
Bowers has been offered a plea deal similar to Carlson’s but has not accepted, according to Walker.
Bowers’ case is currently scheduled to go to trial on April 19.
Bowers and Carlson are both suspects in the disappearance of their 5-year-old daughter but neither face charges related to Oakley.
Anyone with information related to Oakley’s disappearance is asked to call the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office’s non-emergency dispatch number at 360-533-8765, call Detective Sgt. Paul Logan at 360-964-1729 or email sodetectives@co.grays-harbor.wa.us.
Timeline of Oakley’s Disappearance and Her Biological Parents’ Court Case
• November 2019: Oakley leaves the care of her foster parents and returns to her biological parents Andrew Carlson and Jordan Bowers.
• Feb. 10, 2021: The last time detectives with the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office can confirm Oakley was seen alive.
• Nov. 6, 2021: A fire was reported at the Carlsons’ residence in Oakville just before 5 p.m. Andrew Carlson told dispatchers his 4-year-old (Oakley’s age at the time) had lit the couch on fire with a cigarette lighter and said he had put the fire out himself. Investigators later determined the fire most likely started in the microwave on the kitchen counter — not from the couch, as Carlson had claimed.
• Nov. 30, 2021: The date Oakley’s parents claim they last saw Oakley.
• Dec. 5, 2021: Oakville Elementary School Principal Jessica Swift contacts the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office with concerns about Oakley’s safety.
• Dec. 6, 2021:
Approximately 10 a.m.: An officer with the Tumwater Police Department initiates a welfare check for Oakley and interviews Oakley’s parents in their hotel room.
3:31 p.m.: An officer confirmed Jordan Bowers and Carlson left the hotel with their 2-year-old and returned to their Oakville residence.
5:10 p.m.: Bowers is booked into the Grays Harbor County Jail for allegedly obstructing an officer and on suspicion of manslaughter.
9:30 p.m.: Carlson is booked into the Grays Harbor County Jail on suspicion of manslaughter.
• Dec. 7, 2021: Oakley’s sister’s temporary foster parents ask law enforcement about a medication prescribed to the 6-year-old, and law enforcement learn Bowers and Carlson had not been giving the child the medication.
• Dec. 9, 2021: The 72-hour hold on suspicion of manslaughter expires, and that case is closed. Bowers and Carlson are charged with second-degree abandonment of a dependent person for allegedly neglecting to give their 6-year-old daughter prescribed medication for approximately 15 months.
• Dec. 10, 2021: The Department of Children, Youth and Families takes hair follicle samples from Oakley’s 6-year-old sister and 2-year-old brother to submit for analysis. The tests eventually reveal substantial amounts of methamphetamine in both hair follicle samples, indicating the children were exposed to the drug within the last three months.
• Dec. 13, 2021: Detectives complete their search of the Carlson family’s house and surrounding property.
• Dec. 30, 2021: Bowers and Carlson appear in Grays Harbor County Superior Court for the first time. Demonstrators gather outside the courthouse demanding answers about Oakley.
• Jan. 10, 2022: Bowers and Carlson both plead not guilty to second-degree abandonment of a dependent child. Trial dates are set for April 2022.
• Jan. 20, 2022: Deputy Prosecutor Jason Walker submits a motion in Grays Harbor County Superior Court to file amended information adding two counts of endangerment with a controlled substance to Bowers’ and Carlson’s cases, citing results from the hair follicle tests that show methamphetamine in both hair samples.
• Jan. 28, 2022: The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office submits new evidence to the Grays Harbor County Prosecutor’s Office. Based on this evidence, Walker alleges Bowers and Carlson exposed the 6-year-old and 2-year-old to methamphetamine as early as July 1, 2021.
• Jan. 29, 2022: Demonstrators hold a rally outside the Grays Harbor County Jail demanding answers about Oakley.
• Jan. 31, 2022: Bowers and Carlson appear in Grays Harbor County Superior Court for omnibus hearings. The judge schedules a hearing for Feb. 7 to add two new charges to both Bowers’ and Carlson’s cases based on the new evidence from the sheriff’s office.
• Feb. 7, 2022: Bowers and Carlson each plead not guilty to two counts of endangerment with a controlled substance.
• Feb. 22, 2022: Bowers and Carlson appear in Grays Harbor County Superior Court for omnibus hearings. A 3.5 suppression hearing to determine whether statements of guilt made by Bowers can be used as evidence in trial is scheduled.
March 14, 2022: Bowers and Carlson appear in Grays Harbor County Superior Court for trial readiness hearings. Carlson pleads guilty to two counts of endangerment with a controlled substance.
• March 25, 2022: Bowers appears in Grays Harbor County Superior Court for a 3.5 suppression hearing. A judge rules that statements made by Bowers to a corrections officer can be used in trial.
• March 28, 2022: Judge Katherine Svoboda sentences Carlson to 12 months in prison for the two counts of endangerment with a controlled substance. He is also required to obtain a chemical dependency evaluation within 45 days of his release and to undergo any recommended treatment.
