Lincoln County Sheriff's Blotter

*Due to pending investigations, the suspects in the cases below are not named.

CHRISTMAS DAY TRAFFIC STOP RESULTS IN FELONY ARRESTS: COAL IN THEIR STOCKINGS AND STRAIGHT TO THE CLINK.

On December 25, 2020 Deputy Dain Harden stopped a vehicle for excessive lane travel and expired tabs on Hwy 2 in Lincoln County. As the deputy approached he could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. Deputy Harden learned that the occupants were both juveniles going to Spokane from Omak. A check of their names was done with no record of either person.

The suspects were eventually identified as 15 and 17 year olds. They were unable to identify who the vehicle belonged to. The juvenile suspects were observed to have alcohol and marijuana inside of the vehicle.

Additional investigation revealed one of the subjects was a missing person out of Okanogan. Deputy Harden determined the owner of the vehicle may not know where their vehicle was and had dispatch track the registered owner down. Deputy Carsen Weber arrived on scene for backup and to assist with the investigation.

The owner of the vehicle was contacted who was out of the area for Christmas. They confirmed that the subjects did not have permission to be in the vehicle and stated it was stolen from Riverside Washington. Deputies contacted the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office to have them respond to the Riverside residence. It was later determined the house had in fact been broken into and the vehicle was stolen as well as numerous items from within the residence. The vehicle was towed to a secure location at that time for further investigation.

On December 26 Deputy Harden applied for and served a search warrant on two backpacks that were seized during the initial investigation. The search warrant was for any items stolen from the Riverside residence as well as for a nearby vehicle prowling that had occurred close to where the vehicle was stolen in Okanogan County. Deputy Weber and Harden also learned that a convenience store was burglarized the same night as the residential burglary and vehicle prowl also in the Riverside area.

Deputies from Okanagan County had shared with LCSO deputies what some of the stolen items were in their case. Deputies Harden and Weber were able to determine that items stolen from the residence and convenience store were in fact inside of the stolen vehicle to include Mikes hard lemonade, cash, cigarettes, lap top computer and other noted items. A rifle scope, keys, goggles, wallet, and other items were seized and placed into the Lincoln County evidence room. The Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office later did a search warrant at various locations as well Sheriff Wade Magers reported.

The juvenile suspects were booked into Martin Hall, (Juvenile Jail), for possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of stolen property, possession of alcohol and marijuana (M.I.P.), and will also be charged in Okanogan County for residential burglary, burglary second degree, vehicle prowl 2nd and other charges pending the outcome of their investigation.

This is another example of Deputies working hard and as a result of good police work and proactive patrol solved a major case involving a stolen vehicle and burglaries Sheriff Magers reports. In this case Deputy Harden and Weber’s hard work and investigative skills resulted in the victim being notified by Lincoln County that his home and vehicle were stolen before they even knew it occurred.

DEPUTIES RESPOND TO CRY FOR HELP RESULTING IN SEARCH WARRANT AND DRUG SEIZURE:

In the early morning of 12/22/2020, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office was called by a concerned citizen at 405 Morgan St., in Davenport about her neighbor crying and yelling for help.

Deputy Cuzzetto responded to the scene and heard a female crying in her apartment and repeatedly stating “I’m sorry”. Deputy Cuzzetto knocked and announced multiple times with no answer at the door. Believing the female may be in danger, Deputy Cuzzetto entered the apartment to find the female as the only occupant.

Speaking with the female, it was determined that she appeared to be under the influence of narcotics due to her extreme mood swings, behavior, eyes rolling back in her head and her inability to coherently hold a conversation or sit still.

The female was not believed to be currently in danger of harming herself or anyone else. The female declined mental health consultation or medical assistance offered to her. Deputy Cuzzetto cleared the scene after the female did not want further assistance or to answer any further questions.

On the afternoon of 12/22, Deputy McLagan responded to the same apartment unit as the same female was naked and causing a commotion outside of her room. A neighbor stated the female had followed her and her young child out to her vehicle and was trying to get into her car. The female was sweating profusely and appeared to be under the influence.

Deputy McLagan had to restrain the female as she attempted to get away from him after commands to cease. The female was transported to the Lincoln County Hospital for a mental health evaluation.

In the early morning of 12/23/2020, Deputy Cuzzetto, along with Davenport EMT’s, responded to the same residence as the female had called 9-1-1 for medical assistance, shortly after being released from the hospital.

The female had made claims of being hit by a vehicle in Davenport. The female again appeared to be under the influence.

She was transported to the Lincoln County Hospital for medical evaluation. Medical staff stated the bruising and marks on her body that she claimed were from being hit by a vehicle were actually from her trying to get out of the ER and running into doors at the facility.

Deputy Cuzzetto applied for and was granted a search warrant for the female’s apartment.

The search warrant yielded drug paraphernalia including multiple pieces of foil believed to contain black tar heroin, multiple used syringes, metal tablespoons used for heating narcotics and plastic baggies containing what is believed to be methamphetamine. These Items will be sent to the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory for analysis.

Mental health authorities are currently trying to locate a facility to get the female into and charges will be filed for possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia after the state crime lab confirms the identity of the substance Sheriff Wade W Magers reports. We continue to see a rise in mental health crisis and drug use and deputies are often consumed for many hours or days on these types of calls as demonstrated in this case the Sheriff reports.

***

TRAFFIC STOP ENDS IN MULTIPLE FELONY CRIMES:

On 12/16/2020, Deputy Cuzzetto was patrolling in Creston when he observed a gray Ford Mustang traveling east bound on Watson St. which was learned to have multiple registration violations and was subsequently stopped on the east end of town.

The driver did not have any identification and three other passengers declined to identify themselves, stating only that they were traveling from Tonasket to Spokane.

The driver ended up providing his name verbally and a driver’s checks through the state computer system showed he had a suspended driver’s license. A registration check of the vehicle showed an expired registration. The vehicle had been sold over one year ago without being transferred and the vehicle’s title had been cancelled by the state, rendering it illegal to be driven; both criminal violations.

It was determined that nobody in the vehicle had a valid driver’s license or could be identified as the owner of the vehicle, the car was impounded.

During an inventory of the vehicle’s contents before it was impounded, Deputy Cuzzetto located what appeared to be drug paraphernalia in the vehicle. A search warrant was applied for and granted to search the vehicle and its contents.

The search warrant yielded what appears to be meth, ecstasy and multiple methamphetamine pipes. As well as 8 credit cards and checks that appear to have been stolen. Several victims have been contacted and stated that they did not authorize or have knowledge of these individuals having their financial access devices Sheriff Wade Magers reports.

In addition, a ledger was located in the vehicle that contains information including names, birth dates, addresses, social security numbers, phone numbers, passport information, relative’s information, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, bank routing numbers, emails, and passwords of various individuals. Multiple parties have been contacted and stated they have been victims of financial fraud and identify theft in the past year.

The victims contacted range from Washington, California, Texas, Colorado, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Deputy Cuzzetto has identified several of the passengers in the vehicle and charges are being filed for multiple counts of identity theft and possession of a controlled substance.

The driver was criminally cited for driving on a suspended license, failing to transfer the vehicle’s title and driving a vehicle with a cancelled title. Possession of controlled substances charges are also being filed on the driver. This is an example of good police work that started with a “routine” traffic stop and ended with multiple felony charges Sheriff Magers reported. The investigation located multiple victims of identity theft and most did not know they had their personnel financial items stolen.