Deane case still active, pending lab results
Eric Deane, 58, of Moses Lake was arrested last week on suspicion of drug trafficking. Deane has yet to be charged pending lab results on items found at his residence according to authorities.
FILE PHOTO
MOSES LAKE — The Grant County Prosecutor’s Office has yet to file charges against Eric Deane, who was arrested Tuesday in Moses Lake on suspicion of drug possession.
“We’ve not filed charges yet. There are a couple of things we need from the investigators,” said Ed Owens, chief criminal deputy prosecuting attorney for Grant County.
Because of that, Deane — who, according to a Moses Lake Police Department post on Facebook, was booked into the Grant County Jail following his arrest on Tuesday — has been released, and was not listed on the inmate roster as of Friday afternoon..
Deane, 58, was arrested for possession and intent to sell methamphetamine following a roughly two-week-long investigation, according to MLPD Capt. Mike Williams. During the raid, police also arrested Brian Godfrey, 56, on outstanding warrants involving escape from community custody. Godfrey was still listed as a Grant County Jail inmate as of Friday.
Owens said his office is waiting for results from the Washington State Patrol’s crime lab to determine for certain what it was Moses Lake Police Department officers seized in the raid on Deane’s residence in the 200 block of Northshore Drive. However, Owens said he did not know when test results would be available.
“We can’t use just a test kit, we can’t take that as probable cause, and I don’t know how busy they (the Washington State Patrol) are,” Owens said.
Owens added, noting the county prosecuting attorney’s office cannot make a case against a suspect without probable cause and that situations such as Deane’s case often take time to go through the investigation and court processes.
“We will go after him,” he said.
Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.