Suspect gets spooked, hides stash from police, gets caught by civilians

Tumwater police and sheriff’s deputies apprehended a suspect with drugs after residents of a house caught him trying to hide his products from what he thought was the police.

At approximately 10:30 PM on January 14, dispatch received a call from 9400 Littlerock Road SW residents, reporting a suspicious individual and an unauthorized vehicle on their property.

According to Thurston County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) police report, the residents encountered a male wandering behind their house upon investigating the situation.

“They said there was a random car parking in their driveway and a male was wandering around behind their house. When they went out to confront him, he ran away. They reported that they had him cornered behind their house,” TCSO stated in their police report.

TCSO deputies arrived at the scene to find a black Ford Mustang parked in the driveway, along with the suspect, identified as Jacob Smith, who explained that he saw the police and got “spooked” after having decided to pull over to smoke marijuana.

“He told me that he recently got off supervision for drug related offenses. He said he saw the homeowners flashlights come out in the yard and he thought it was the police again so he ran away from them until he was cornered in the bushes,” TCSO reported.

Smith stated to authorities that he borrowed the Mustang from a female friend residing in Vancouver. Investigation revealed that the Mustang was reported stolen by the Tigard Police Department in Oregon.

The deputy checked the man for weapons, and discovered a substantial amount of cash totaling $2837.00 on Smith’s jacket, who claimed it was his winnings from a casino visit.

As the responding deputies became suspicious of the individual, they searched the area where the man was initially cornered, and found multiple bags containing narcotics, including cocaine and methamphetamine, along with drug paraphernalia.

“Each of these bags contained more than what would be considered a personal use amount of narcotics,” the responding deputy stated in the police report.

A Tumwater Police Department officer, along with his K9 partner, James, searched the vehicle, with James confirming sniffing illegal drugs inside the suspect’s vehicle.

After obtaining a search warrant to check the Mustang, deputies uncovered more evidence related to drug trafficking such as distribution bags similar to the ones found in the bushes, a small black scale with white powder residue on it, a backpack containing seven blue pills believed to be fentanyl, and a small locked container.

“Inside the container we located two bags. One bag contained a crystal substance that appeared to be methamphetamine. The second contained a white powdery substance that is believed to be cocaine,” TCSO responding deputies further reported.

Authorities placed the suspect under arrest for unlawful possession of controlled substances (UPCS) with intent to deliver and was brought to the Thurston County Jail.