Sheriff cautions public to act peacefully in the wake of death threats over controversial housing for sex offenders in Tenino

Posted

Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders warned the public against violence after threats were made against authorities involved in the planned housing at Tenino for sex offenders.

Sanders said threats to kill employees and destroy property were made over the phone against the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC), Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), and Supreme Living LLC, which will run the housing project.

The Sheriff called on Thurston County residents to be a “constructive force” and make their opposition known through “legal and morally acceptable avenues.” He assured that the “Thurston County Sheriff’s Office will continue to provide information on this topic as we get it.”

“I empathize with the frustrations of our community,” Sanders said in a statement, “however threats of violence will not be tolerated and are subject to criminal enforcement.”

“Your local county officials are working around the clock to address this issue to the best of our abilities, and making threats to kill or injure members of our community is detrimental to that work,” the sheriff continued.

Sanders shared, “The Tenino/Maytown area has the potential to be the guiding hand that protects the entire state for decades to come, but only if an intentional decision is made to win where it counts: the courtroom and legislative floor.”

“Any opposition to this issue should be done in a way that values what the community is fighting for in the first place: human life and property rights,” Sanders added.

The Sheriff previously said that the DOC and DSHS cited the threats when they backed out of Sunday’s town hall about the housing project.

Over 300 people attended the meeting with three public officials, including Sanders, to discuss concerns over the sex-offender residence set to open this Wednesday in the Maytown area.

Sanders said that although the Sheriff’s Office cannot halt the project due to state law, it will “flood the area with resources” to keep the sex offenders within the confines of the house.

County Commissioner Gary Edwards also said that Thurston County has the power to ensure that Supreme Living will meet environmental regulations for the housing project.

Comments

1 comment on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here

  • FirstOtter

    Listen to this tap dancing! Edwards says that the County has the 'power to ensure that Supreme Living will meet environmental regulations for the housing project." IS he insane? Thurston County hasn't demonstrated the slightest regard for other ramrodded projects, such as the expansion of the Olympia REgional Airport or the Spire bottling plant, projects that will destroy the living conditions and quality of life for thousands of citizens. And now they're contracting it out a private company? Just the fact that they're an LLC tells me they're already seeing problems with escapees down the road and are covering their back ends ahead of time when the inevitable escape and **** occurs.

    Thurston county can't even manage the hundreds of homeless people despoiling the area with their garbage and drug paraphenalia. How does Edwards and the LLC and the others propose to keep sexual predators from walking out the door and raping yet another little boy or girl or a woman walking her dog?

    This 'home' for violent *** offenders and child molestors is a dreadfully terrible idea. That they're planning on putting it in rural area is worse. It's 'disposing of the problem" by putting it where the Commissioners and City managers aren't bothered by it.

    THese monsters need to be kept behind bars. I don't care if they're ''hated" by men in prison, men who may have murdered but never raped anyone.

    THe only 'constructive force' we have as citizens in this county is to insist the state put all these monsters back on McNeil Island. In tents, for all I care.

    Wednesday, February 1, 2023 Report this