FORKS — Two people are headed for Jefferson County court trials while a third has pleaded guilty and been sentenced and a fourth now incarcerated on an unrelated matter may face charges after an investigation into an alleged scheme to smuggle illegal drugs into the Olympic Corrections Center south of Forks.
The Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Team (OPNET) and the state Department of Corrections conducted the joint investigation after several inmates in the facility showed signs of being under the influence of drugs, according to a news release from Detective Sergeant Josh Powless, narcotics team supervisor with OPNET.
DOC investigators requested assistance from OPNET in December, Powless said.
Three people have been charged in Jefferson County with delivery of controlled substances (heroin, meth and Suboxone) and second-degree introducing contraband.
The same charges have been recommended to the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office against Luis Reyes, 24, of University Place, who is now in prison for a prior crime.
Fernando Andres Reyes-Maravilla, 28, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on March 11 to two years of residential substance use disorder treatment.
Dongelique R. Spillers, 30, of Bellevue faces trial June 6-9, with bail set at $10,000.
Patricia Lemus-Camacho, 40, of Seatac, remained in jail on Monday on $50,000 bail, with trial dates set for May 16-19.
Reyes is alleged to have arranged for Lemus-Camacho, his sister, to drive to the facility and throw a package of controlled substances over the fence on two occasions.
On Dec. 16, investigators planned to catch her in the act as she did it again, Powless said, but Lemus-Camacho’s vehicle was discovered stuck in a ditch about a half-mile from the facility and she was not in the car. Spillers was driving, according to DOC and a Jefferson County deputy.
She told investigators she had dropped off a man, later identified as Reyes-Maravilla — another brother of Lemus-Camacho — in the area of the prison, Powless said.
Investigators allege that after the two had driven to the facility, Reyes-Maravilla got out of the car and Spillers was supposed to turn the vehicle around and pick him up. However, the car became stuck in the ditch.
Reyes-Maravilla was found by DOC staff in the woods outside of the prison, investigators said.
DOC recovered a package within the facility that contained 37 Suboxone strips, about one-fourth ounce of suspected heroin, about one-half ounce of suspected methamphetamine and tobacco.
The total street value of the package was about $1,600, investigators said.
Reyes-Maravilla and Spillers were both booked immediately, while, after further investigation, an arrest warrant was issued for Lemus-Camacho, and OPNET notified King County law enforcement of the warrant.
On March 11, King County deputies located Lemus-Camacho at her Seatac residence and took her into custody “despite Lemus-Camacho’s efforts to resist,” according to the release.
OPNET is a multi-agency team with officers from the Clallam County and Jefferson County’s sheriff’s offices; Port Angeles, Sequim and Port Townsend police departments, U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations.
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Executive Editor Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3530 or at lleach@peninsuladailynews.com.