By Cathy Logg
Herald Writer
COUPEVILLE — An Oak Harbor-area man suspected of stealing ammonia for methamphetamine production has been charged with possession of methamphetamine.
Duane Peter Christian, 46, remained in Island County Jail Friday in lieu of $10,000 bail. He was charged Thursday in Island County Superior Court with the felony drug charge. He is scheduled for arraignment Friday.
Authorities arrested Christian and his wife Tuesday during a raid by investigators from Island, Skagit and Grant counties, Arlington police and the Washington State Patrol’s Statewide Incident Response Team. His wife was released after booking because the couple has three children at home. She has not been charged.
The raids of Christian’s home in the 1300 block of Zylstra Road and another house in the 1800 block of Fort Nugent Road arose from an investigation in Grant County of two ammonia thefts that authorities say are linked to a Mother’s Day theft of ammonia in Arlington.
Christian was out on bail on methamphetamine-related charges in Grant County at the time of his arrest, Island County sheriff’s Detective C.E. Wallace Jr. said in an affidavit filed in court.
Christian allegedly told investigators that he has let numerous other people manufacture meth at a lab on his property, and authorities allegedly found chemical and equipment used in the drug-making process on the property.
When detectives searched his home, they allegedly found meth in the couple’s bedroom. He told detectives that the drugs were his and had been given to him as payment for services he provided to someone else, Wallace said in his affidavit.
You can call Herald Writer Cathy Logg at 425-339-3437
or send e-mail to logg@heraldnet.com.
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