Search warrants net narcotics and cash

On Jan. 22, 2020 the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Spokane Police Department Special Investigation Unit (SIU), U.S. Border Patrol K-9, Adams County Patrol K-9, Spokane Police Department Targeted Crimes Unit, Police Anti-Crime (PACT) and SPD SWAT in serving a search warrant at a residence in Davenport.

This case was the culmination of a lengthy investigation by detectives who developed probable cause to execute two search warrants, one in Davenport and one in a rural part of Spokane County, Sheriff Wade Magers reports.

Lincoln County Undersheriff Kelly Watkins, Sergeant Mike Stauffer and Deputy Jerad McLagan executed the search warrant in Davenport, which netted approximately $150,000 in cash. In addition, some of the money was identified by SIU from previous controlled narcotics purchases co-mingled with it. In the second search warrant, which was executed in rural Spokane County, police recovered multiple pounds of illegal drugs. This included 13 pounds of methamphetamine, four pounds of heroin, two ounces of suspected fentanyl and six firearms, one of which was reported stolen. The illegal narcotics had a street value worth several hundred thousand dollars.

Magers said he was pleased with the partnership and teamwork with federal and state agencies in this effort to get such a large quantity of these harmful substances, firearms and dangerous suspects off the streets. The search warrant in Davenport resulted in the arrest of an individual who was involved in a large-scale drug operation that appears to involve several jurisdictions across the state, Magers said. Because of the sensitivity of the investigation and multiple jurisdictions involved, the investigation was kept confidential and no information was released until now.

The case is currently being prosecuted in federal court by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and members of the DEA Task Force. These types of large-scale investigations often involve multiple agencies, coordination, confidentiality as well as a high level of expertise. “The search warrants were considered very high risk and had the potential of extreme danger,” Magers said. The cash seized in the execution of the first search warrant was so substantial that a money-counting machine had to be used to confirm the hand count of the total cash involved in the case.

The Lincoln County search warrant was served in Davenport at 306 14th Street, and suspect Emilia Perez was arrested at the scene without further incident.