SOUNDER THE ISLANDS’
Sign vandalism Takes a dangerous turn – PG 7
Serving Orcas, Lopez and San Juan County
Wednesday, January 4, 2012 VOL. 45, NO. 1 75¢
Starry, starry night
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Former Orcas student allegedly part of drug ring Feds break up Bellingham meth and heroin ring supplying San Juans by SOUNDER STAFF
Alex Huppenthal/contributed photo
Islander Alex Huppenthal took this shot at Cascade Lake during a recent clear night sky.
Justice on the ropes Prosecutor and sheriff grapple with upcoming budget cuts by SCOTT RASMUSSEN
Journal editor/county reporter
Not all misdemeanors are created equal. And the prosecution of some misdemeanor charges might just fall by the wayside beginning this year, as the San Juan County prosecuting attorney’s office shifts priorities in anticipation of a $30,600 cut in its 2012 budget. That’s according to Prosecuting Attorney Randy Gaylord, who, in a prepared statement released Dec. 20, said to offset that pending $30,600 cut he will be forced reduce the hours of the attorney assigned to handle misdemeanor cases by half. Gaylord said the department will take the first two months of the year to trim down the District Court caseload, where most misdemeanors are prosecuted, and to implement new guidelines for handling future misdemeanor cases. The cut is slated to take effect March 1. “We will refocus on those cases that involve injuries to people, and especially domestic violence, driving under the influence, and other serious charges involving reckless and damaging conduct,” Gaylord said. “My goal is to keep the community safe, but it
contributed photos
Left: Prosecuting Attorney Randy Gaylord. Above: Sheriff Rob Nou. is not practical to expect that offenders will be held accountable in the same way that we have been able to do in the past.” The prosecuting attorney’s office will begin 2012 with a budget of $954,783 and, according to Gaylord, a total of 8.5 full-time employees. The prosecutor’s office is funded through the county general fund, which, along with $3 million in outside grants, totals roughly $16.9 million in 2012. The sheriff ’s department, funded largely through the general fund as well, will operate next year with a $110,000 cut in a budget that totals $2.4 million. Sheriff Rob Nou said the department will be unable to fill a deputy position on Orcas Island, which at this point remains vacant, and must do without a part-time dispatcher, also an unfilled post, because of the drop in 2012 funding. However, Nou said the department’s deputies and detectives will continue to pursue investigations and enforce the law regardless of any priority shifts by the prosecutor. “It isn’t really going to change the way we do busi-
SEE PROSECUTOR, PAGE 6
Federal authorities have arrested Orcas Island High School graduate Denali Wood, 23, and her boyfriend, alleged drug ring leader Todd Hamilton, 34, and charged them with conspiracy to distribute black tar heroin and crystal methamphetamine in three Washington counties. “The couple distributed extensive amounts of heroin and methamphetamine in Whatcom, Skagit and San Juan counties,” the U.S. Attorney’s office announced on Dec. 22. “During a court authorized wiretap investigation, the conspirators discussed their drug deals, how to launder drug money, and the beating one drug customer received when he failed to pay a debt,” said Jenny Durkan, U.S. attorney for the Western district of Washington. “Information obtained during the course of the investigation revealed how Hamilton used a Washington State Department of Corrections officer to try to get information regarding law enforcement knowledge of him and his girlfriend. That corrections officer resigned his position earlier this year and has now been charged in the drug conspiracy.” Wood and Hamilton each pled not guilty to all charges at Dec. 23 and Dec. 27 hearings. The case is being investigated by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as local law enforcement. San Juan County sheriff Rob Nou declined to comment on whether county detectives are involved. Prosecutors allege that many of Wood’s customers and re-distributors live on the San Juan Islands. Orcas School District superintendent Barbara Kline said Wood came to Orcas from Lynden in 2003, graduating with the Orcas High class of 2006. “This is very surprising,” Kline
Facebook photo
Denali Wood and her boyfriend Todd Hamilton in an undated photo from her Facebook account.
said. “We had no problems with her in high school.” Readiness to Learn advocate Julie Pinardi remembers that Wood lived in an apartment complex on her own during her Orcas high school years. “That is very, very hard for teenagers to do,” she said. “She wanted to graduate and be successful. I am very saddened by this whole story.” In 2006 Wood received a $500 Orcas Island Education Foundation scholarship; a $500 President’s Scholarship from Western Washington University; and was offered a matching $2,500 aviation scholarship by the
SEE DENALI, PAGE 6
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