‘He Nearly Died’: Four Green Hill Inmates Arrested Following JNET Investigation Into Overdose At Juvenile Facility

Snacks, an Overdose and a Bag of ‘Skittles’: How Green Hill Fentanyl Bust Unfolded

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The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) announced Thursday that it has arrested four Green Hill School inmates connected to the overdose of an inmate last year.

The case began when a 17-year-old boy was found unconscious and unresponsive in his cell at the Chehalis-based juvenile detention center on Nov. 27, 2022 with indications he suffered a drug overdose, according to a JNET news release and documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court. 

He was taken by ambulance to St. Peter’s Hospital in Olympia, where a drug test revealed fentanyl in his system. He was then transported via life flight to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. 

“The victim was in Harborview for over a month. It sounds like he nearly died,” said Deputy Prosecutor Joe Bassetti said during a hearing on Thursday. 

Following the inmate’s overdose, JNET began its investigation into the presence of fentanyl at Green Hill School in late November. 

Through interviews with Green Hill staff, investigators learned the family member of a Green Hill inmate had been dropping off “snacks” with a mentor to give to a specific inmate, who then distributed them around the facility, according to court documents. 

The mentor soon contacted law enforcement to inform them he had received family-sized bags of Skittles and other food items from an inmate’s family member with instructions to deliver them to the inmate. But upon becoming suspicious about the packages and opening them, the mentor discovered nearly 1,100 pills suspected to be fentanyl sprinkled with ground black pepper. 

Most of the pills were blue and imprinted with “M” and “30” on opposing sides. A small amount of the pills were pink, imprinted with “M” and “15” on opposing sides, according to JNET.

As part of the investigation, JNET detectives and Green Hill administrators “decided to attempt a controlled delivery into Green Hill School,” according to court documents. 

Detectives purchased family-sized bags of Skittles and had the mentor deliver them during his next mentoring session, as requested.  



Three inmates, Rodney T Strickland, 23, of Kent; Dajon J. Walker, 21, of Snoqualmie; and Cameron R. Miller, 20, of Olympia, were arrested following that controlled delivery.

They were each charged with violation of the uniform controlled substance act and second-degree conspiracy to introduce contraband on Dec. 20. 

About three weeks later, on Jan. 12, a detective and a Child Protective Services agent were able to interview the 17-year-old victim at Harborview. 

Investigators later identified Austin Glore, 22, of Auburn, as the person who delivered the victim the drugs he overdosed on, according to court documents. 

Glore was arrested on Wednesday, Jan. 18 and was transported to the Lewis County Jail. He has since been charged with one count each of delivering a controlled substance to a minor — a class A felony punishable by up to life in prison — and possession of a controlled substance by a prisoner. 

Due to the severity of the allegations and a first-degree manslaughter conviction on Glore’s record from King County, a judge set Glore’s bail at $100,000 on Thursday. 

His arraignment hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 26. 

Walker and Miller have both pleaded not guilty to all charges and their trials are scheduled to begin Feb. 20. 

Strickland pleaded guilty to one count of violation of the controlled substances act on Jan. 4 and was sentenced that same day to serve six months in prison. 

“In recognizing the devastating effects of fentanyl, JNET will continue to work with partner agencies to vigorously investigate overdoses and overdose deaths, and arrest those individuals who sell and deliver deadly drugs in the communities we serve,” JNET stated in a news release.