PORT ANGELES — The trial of a Sequim man accused of using his gravel delivery business as a front for selling cocaine resumes this morning in Clallam County Superior Court.

Douglas Eugene Baker, 50, is charged with 14 counts of cocaine delivery, 14 counts of money laundering and one count of cocaine possession. The charges stem from an Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team investigation that culminated in a raid of Baker’s home, at 166 Old Dad’s Road, in March 2002.

Clallam County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Prentiss argues that Baker made hundreds of cocaine transactions to a core group of 12 people since 1999 and deposited the money into his Hardrock Trucking Inc. bank account.

Baker’s Port Angeles attorney, Karen Unger, says the state has no proof that what Baker was selling was actually cocaine.

Baker, who was released on his own recognizance following his arrest last year, contends he is innocent.

“I’m not guilty,” he told the Peninsula Daily News Wednesday. “I’ve never sold any drugs to anybody, and I’ve never done any drugs.”

Arguments and witness testimony in the trial began Wednesday before a 12-person jury, two alternates and visiting Jefferson County Superior Court Judge Thomas Majhan.

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The rest of the story appears in the Monday Peninsula Daily News. Click on SUBSCRIBE, above, to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.