Abby Craig, the woman charged in Lewis County last month for allegedly participating in a money laundering scheme that stole over $26,000 from a Centralia resident, had referred to two of her purported criminal orchestrators as only “Deniro” and “Capone.”
On Wednesday, two men made preliminary appearances in Lewis County Superior Court after each posting $25,000 in bail following their arrest in Pierce County.
Turns out one of the names wasn’t an alias.
Deniro S. Sullivan, 21, of Tacoma, and Devonte J. Watley, 23, of Puyallup, are charged with one count each of first-degree theft and money laundering, both considered Class B felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $20,000 in fines.
Sullivan and Watley remain out of custody after posting $25,000 in bail following their arrests in Pierce County. Prosecuting Attorney Jonathan Meyer noted that Watley had shown up to court “almost painfully early.” He was supported by family in the gallery.
The two defendants, who reportedly live together, are not allowed to discuss the case as part of their conditions of release.
During Craig’s preliminary appearance on Jan. 30, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said the state believed Craig was “involved in organized crime.”
Prosecutors allege that Craig, Sullivan and Watley participated in a series of thefts that involved transferring money from the victim’s bank account into a “pass-through” account before landing the stolen funds in an account owned by Craig.
The probable cause affidavit does not state how they — or perhaps others above them — achieved access to either the victim’s account or the pass-through account.
Craig, on the other hand, allegedly said she provided her account information to Sullivan.
According to the affidavit, Pierce County sheriff’s deputies detained and released Craig on Dec. 15, 2025, after Craig had tried to withdraw $5,000 from her Peak Credit Unit account, which prompted a fraud alert.
On Jan. 28, detectives with the Centralia Police Department received body camera footage showing contact between a deputy and Craig on the day she attempted the withdrawal.
According to the affidavit’s description of the body cam footage, Craig allegedly said “she was told by two males to come to the bank and withdraw money,” and claimed she did “not know the male subjects' names and only knew their ‘fake’ names.”
The suspect further stated the men had “asked for her account number and put money into her account,” but “did not tell her where the funds came from,” according to the affidavit.
The deputy reportedly advised Craig that she was under arrest before releasing her.
On Jan. 29, Centralia police arrested Craig.
The Chronicle previously reported that, following her arrest, Craig allegedly said “the scheme began when she was contacted by an associate known as ‘Deniro,’ whom she (had) known for over a year after meeting through social media,” according to the affidavit.
Craig allegedly agreed to participate after she was told “the activity was legal” and that she would receive $1,000 for her assistance.
According to the affidavit, Craig said she was driven by Deniro “and his associates.” On the day she was detained outside Peak Credit Union, the driver was a man named “Capone.”
Craig claimed Capone was only involved in that incident.
Though she reportedly became suspicious “when the amounts reached $5,000,” Craig allegedly said she was “reassured that the activity was legitimate.”
On Jan. 30, the day of Craig’s preliminary appearance, a Centralia detective obtained information through a search warrant executed on Craig’s iPhone that allegedly corroborated existing evidence indicating Craig’s participation in the theft of $26,700 from the victim.
Following Craig’s preliminary appearance, the detective interviewed the defendant and reportedly learned the full name of Deniro.
The affidavit specifically references an “unauthorized withdrawal” of $5,076.95 from the victim’s account that reportedly occurred at the Emerald Queen Casino, along with previously-obtained surveillance footage that allegedly shows “Craig arriving at the casino shortly before the unauthorized withdrawal,” and “making the cash withdrawal.”
According to the affidavit, Craig identified Sullivan “as the male seen with her on the video surveillance footage from the Emerald Queen Casino,” and Watley “as the driver of the silver BMW” that Sullivan exited.
Surveillance footage reportedly shows Sullivan and Craig “go to the casino together and attempt to get more money out of the ATM.”
Craig, who is represented by attorney Katherine Kauffman, pleaded not guilty to the charges during an arraignment on Feb. 5.
Sullivan and Watley were scheduled for arraignments on March 5. They will both look to retain private defense counsel.
