Law enforcement officers in Lewis County are pouring over evidence from over 100 felony cases, seized from an unlikely location.
In the back of the laundry room at the Green Hill School, a bank of gym-style lockers were stuffed with evidence of crimes from years past committed inside the state’s maximum-security facility for juvenile offenders.
Bags of fentanyl, marijuana wrapped in socks, a shiv (homemade knife) fashioned from a spike, and drugs stashed in the tongues of a pair of gym shoes.
Each could represent a felony case against whoever brought them in, distributed them or used them inside the institution.
But police and prosecutors in Lewis County, where Green Hill is located, had no inkling until earlier this year.
“We were wondering, 'OK, how much evidence is there and what is not being reported?'” said Centralia Police Chief Stacy Denham.
Denham says the county’s Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) received a tip about the stash of contraband earlier this year, but couldn’t get Green Hill administrators to hand it over.
“By statute, they’re not allowed to hold on to it. They are supposed to turn that over to law enforcement,” Denham said.
Green Hill is the state’s maximum security facility for juvenile rehabilitation. It houses offenders convicted of crimes like murder, rape, and armed robbery.
With a lack of cooperation from Green Hill, law enforcement did something rare: JNET sought a search warrant to enter a government facility.
“I’ve never (done) that in my 30-plus years in law enforcement, and I don’t know anybody else that has either,” said Denham.
