1 arrested after Highway 17 stop; detectives recover fentanyl, firearms

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Street Crimes Unit conducted a traffic stop on Highway 17 near Randolph Road and executed a search warrant Friday morning as part of an ongoing narcotics investigation.  

Detectives stopped 40-year-old Mason Beeman and he was taken into custody at the scene. His passenger was detained during the investigation.  

“He was on his way back from Seattle when he was stopped,” Moses Lake Police Department Captain Jeff Sursely said. “It is assumed he was purchasing drugs.”  

Following the stop, detectives executed search warrants on his vehicle and a residence located on Road M NE near Moses Lake. During the search, detectives recovered 10 firearms, a bulletproof vest, over one pound of fentanyl powder, around five ounces of cocaine, more than 2.5 ounces of methamphetamine and $1,400.  

According to the Grant County Jail Roster, Beeman has been booked on suspicion of conspiracy to possess, deliver or manufacture methamphetamine. The case remains active, Sursely said, with the potential for additional charges.  

The passenger was released pending further investigation.  

“This was the second case for street crimes in seven days,” Sursely said. “We had another one on Wheeler earlier this week.”  

Sursely said the two cases were not connected. 

A week earlier, on April 3, the Moses Lake Street Crimes Unit arrested Steven Johnston at the Cougar Campgrounds in the town of Wheeler. Detectives recovered around $7,000, 1.5 pounds of methamphetamine, three ounces of suspected psilocybin mushrooms, two rifles and a 3-D printer.  

Johnston was booked into the Grant County Jail for two counts of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and possession, delivery or manufacture schedule I or II Narcotics or Flunitrazepam. As of Friday afternoon, he does not have a listed bail amount