LYNNWOOD — An Everett man was arrested early Monday in an elementary school parking lot, where he’d fallen asleep in an SUV while in possession of methamphetamine, heroin and a gun, according to police reports.
Just before 8 a.m., a witness called the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office about a man in a red Ford Explorer with the engine running, parked across three spaces at Lake Stickney Elementary School, 1625 Madison Way.
Young children were showing up to begin the school day.
“There was no information to suggest the male was a threat to anyone at the school,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Courtney O’Keefe said via email.
The windows were rolled down halfway, and an odor like vinegar, or heroin, wafted to the approaching deputies.
One deputy knocked on the window and the driver, 40, awoke with a start. He reportedly told police he’d been driving and needed a break, so he parked. He told deputies he’d been there about two hours, O’Keefe said. Deputies noted a belt and needle caps next to the man. He reported it was not his vehicle but he gave them consent to search it if they wanted.
Next to the driver’s seat, a deputy found a loaded black handgun. One round was in the chamber. Twelve more were in an attached magazine. A needle rested in the driver’s door, and the man told police it contained meth, according to the court papers. Deputies pulled a green plastic-zip bag from the man’s pocket, and he told them it held heroin. The bag weighed about 45 grams.
The suspect is the same man who suffered two dozen bullet wounds in a shooting in May 2018 at the Farwest Motel on Evergreen Way in Everett. That was an apparent robbery of drugs at the man’s motel room.
Sheriff’s deputies arrested the man Monday for investigation of felony possession of heroin, as well as misdemeanor charges of carrying a loaded pistol in a car without a permit, possession of a dangerous weapon at a school facility and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The school district planned to notify families of the arrest Tuesday.
“We are thankful for an observant staff member who reported the suspicious vehicle first thing in the morning when reporting to work,” district spokeswoman Diane Bradford said in an email.
The district expressed gratitude to the sheriff’s office for a speedy response.
The Everett man had a misdemeanor warrant out for his arrest from Marysville. He told the deputies he had a court hearing set for later on Monday. According to the reports, the man has no prior felony record.
On a probable cause statement, a deputy wrote in a box reserved for the name of the victim: “Society.”
Caleb Hutton: 425-339-3454; chutton@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snocaleb.
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