[1]Denise Salts, 52, was taken into custody this morning after pleading guilty to use of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor.
Updated at 4:05 p.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Prosecutors made a plea deal with Denise R. Salts to drop a delivery of methamphetamine charge admitting they were holding it over her head until after she testified in a triple-murder trial in which she was the only surviving victim.
Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt expressed his displeasure with the attorneys’ agreement Salts should serve no time on a lesser charge, and sent her to jail for eight days this morning.
Salts, 52, was shot in the face when her boyfriend David West Sr. and two others were slain in August 2010 inside her Salkum-Onalaska area home.
Then, the following June she was labeled one of the main narcotics distributors in East Lewis County when the sheriff’s office arrested her, alleging she gave a small baggie of methamphetamine to an informant in exchange for a $20 bill.
Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher amended the charge to unlawful use of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor that comes with a sentence of zero to 90 days in jail.
He and defense attorney Michael Underwood agreed to recommend Salts get credit for the two days she served when she was arrested and no more time.
Both said there was no deal in place when she testified last month against John A. Booth Jr.
Meagher did not say Salts was unwilling to testify, only that he had lost track of her and didn’t know where she was. It was always his intent to reward her, he told the judge.
Hunt asked why they made a plea agreement.
“To be quite candid your honor, I felt sorry for her,” Meagher said.
Salts had no criminal history and is a former successful graduate of Lewis County Drug Court.
Hunt calmly blasted Salts for using the resources of his drug court and returning old habits, calling it beyond explanation.
She replied, “I don’t know, I can’t even tell you … I don’t know.”
The judge sentenced her 90 days in jail, with 80 days suspended and gave her credit for two days served.
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For background, read:
• “News brief: “Big” drug dealers in court tomorrow” from Wednesday June 22, 2011, here [2]
• “Salkum triple murder: Victims cry, defendant lashes out at sentence hearing” from Friday December 16, 2011, here [3]