NEWS BITES: June 12, 2024

EPHRATA — A 22-year-old Quincy man was jailed Tuesday for possessing sexually explicit images of children, according to a statement from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.

GCSO detectives arrested Isaac N. Gutierrez at his home in the 500 block of C Street Southeast, according to the statement. The arrest was the result of an investigation that was started after detectives received a tip about someone in Grant County uploading images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. After a six-month investigation and several search warrants, detectives identified Gutierrez as well as the location of the images online.

Detectives served a search warrant at Gutierrez’s home, and he was taken into custody, the GCSO wrote. The Seattle Police Department loaned the GCSO its electronics detection K-9 to search the home for digital devices. SPD investigators then forensically examined those devices.

Gutierrez is lodged in the Grant County Jail for investigation of three counts of possession of depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to the GCSO. The investigation is ongoing.

QUINCY — The Quincy Police Department has brought on a new recruit, according to an announcement from the department.

Danya Mercado, 27, is a 2015 graduate of Quincy High School and earned her bachelor’s degree in law and justice from Central Washington University, according to the announcement.

“I hope to be able to give back to the community I grew up in and do my part in helping keep Quincy safe,” Mercado wrote in the announcement.