Updated at 12:15 p.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Efforts to quash illegal pain pill sales in Centralia have led to an inmate who allegedly headed up a drug trafficking organization from prison, using fabricated telephone numbers to direct and set up deals between suppliers, sellers and customers, Centralia police revealed today.
The investigation that began after the local man was incarcerated in January has caught 20 other individuals in four counties and culminated yesterday in searches at New Beginnings Wellness Centers in Tumwater and Aberdeen, which involved the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, according to the Centralia Police Department.
At the center of the alleged drug ring is 30-year-old Forrest E. Amos, formerly of Napavine, according to police.
It’s mainly Oxycodone, Centralia police’s Anti-Crime Team Sgt. Jim Shannon said this morning.
“We’re doing everything we possible can to reach out as far as we possibly can to cut that off at its source,” Shannon said.
The organization has primarily been involved in illegal delivery of prescription pain relief medication but also has illegally facilitated medical marijuana authorizations, according to Centralia police.
Intercepted prison phone conversations and surveillance of the ensuing drug deals have resulted in arrests, identification of more suspects and further arrests over the past several weeks, according to police.
In the process, authorities have confiscated approximately 1,650 illegal prescription pills with a street value of as much as $66,000, according to Shannon.
Besides Centralia and Chehalis, the arrests have been made in Napavine, Longview, Lacey and at Sea-Tac Airport, according to news release from the Centralia Police Department.
Some of the 20 people ‘caught” have not been arrested, but their cases referred to prosecutors for evaluation of possible charges, according to the news release.
It’s not a marijuana investigation, but officers have also confiscated 156 marijuana plants, one and a half pounds of dried marijuana, according to police.
The investigation has included the seizure of five vehicles, $19,000 cash and a house in south Chehalis, according to Shannon.
Shannon said they have more arrests to make today.
The list of potential charges for Amos and others is long, including leading organized crime, extortion, identity theft, fraud, first-degree assault, delivery and/or possession with intent to deliver controlled substances, as well as Medicaid fraud, according to the Centralia Police Department.
Shannon said yesterday’s search warrants served in Tumwater and Aberdeen focused on medical records and other documents. New Beginnings Wellness Centers is operated by a nurse practitioner named Sharol Chavez, he said.
DEA agents and the U.S Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General will be reviewing them for possible federal violations, according to Shannon.
Other entities involved in the investigation include the Longview Police Department Street Crimes Unit, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Homeland Security Investigations and the Washington State Department of Corrections Internal Intelligence and Narcotics Group, according to the Centralia Police Department.
Police Chief Bob Berg called it a complicated and lengthy investigation which would not have been possible without the cooperation of several agencies.
“The chief suspect in this case, while not in the community, continued to have a major impact on our community,” Berg stated in the news release. “The continued good work of the department’s Anti-Crime Team has been a contributing factor in the downward trend of crime in Centralia.”
Amos is serving time for possessing prescription drugs without authorization. He was sent to prison in January, according to Shannon.
Police allege Amos attempted to hide his prison phone conversations by extorting personal information from sex offenders in prison and using it to set up fake phone accounts. Inmates can communicate with outsiders via collect phone calls, according to Shannon.
Shannon said prison investigators caught onto the telephone scheme early on.
Amos allegedly arranged with a co-conspirator to have contraband smuggled in as well, according to Centralia police.
Police made the investigation public today because it is nearing its completion at the local level, according to police.
Details about the mentioned first-degree assault were not immediately available.
The residence local authorities are in the process of seizing came out of the arrest of Justin Currier in February, according to Shannon. His team was investigating the pain pill trade and just incidentally turned up more than 150 marijuana plants at Currier’s home, he said.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Fish on!
LOL!!! See what I mean?!?!?! Ahahahaha
And yet, here you are. Bet you’d be a hoot driving through South Central LA and poking fun of “those” people there.
Too funny!!! Hilarious!!! The comments on this site are certainly reflective of the clientele that reads it. Mostly felons and registered sex offenders taking their pot shots at the police, then smile at them to their faces…
Definitely NOT a reputable source but GREAT entertainment!!!
Interesting. Amos is from Napavine and serving time at Coyote Ridge. That’s the same place that the soft ball coach from Pe Ell is serving his time for running around raping school girls. I wonder if he’s one of the inmates Amos was extorting information from. It’s a good bet he would know what the coaches crime was. Seeing how they’re both from the area. Might a been putting some, or threatening too, put some, man handling on him in the shower or after lights out.
Really odd. I mean what’s with ‘fake phone accounts’ inmates call people via collect call. So what, some one on the outside gets a trac type cell phone (s) then the inmate communicates with his outside contact in that manner?
I wonder where the extorting personal information from fellow inmates to hide personal information comes into play? I wonder what the incentive was for his outside conspirators to cut Amos in on the action? And still with all that, all outgoing phone calls are monitored and recorded so all conversations would be documented.
Oh wait..that’s right, they got caught. No wonder he’s already in prison!
I’m really curious as to how one might accomplish running a street operated drug ring from prison… I mean that takes real brains and serious effort, along with hardcore connections. You might not like what he was doing, but, you have to admire his diligence, and conviction to stay on top.
I am sure that if Sgt. Jim Shannon is involved in this case there will be some added information there that don’t need to be in the reports. I hope all persons involved have a good attorney and that all persons involved read there reports letter by letter and mark all lies in them. I hate to see another innocent person go to jail cause of Sgt. Jim Shannon.
Old Long Johnson makes a valid observation. The financial reward appears to drive investigations more than actual protection of the public. Perhaps the law should be changed so that any seized property must be donated to charitable organizations. How can anyone not see how arrests coupled with a prize won’t change the flavor of the law enforcement?
YAY! ONE DRUGGIE AT A TIME!!!
I have a hard time juxtaposing the whole claim that they were…
“efforts to quash illegal pain pill sales in Centralia.”
when the article ends with..
“The investigation has included the seizure of five vehicles, $19,000 cash and a house in south Chehalis”
I have a hard time understanding how a sick person’s addiction can be cause to steal their property.
This news couldn’t make me happier. 🙂