Car dealer jailed, faces drug charge

The owner and operator of an Oak Harbor car dealership is being held in jail on $50,000 bail after deputies raided the business and found a large amount of methamphetamines, court documents state.

Prosecutors charged 41-year-old Nolan Brown in Island County Superior Court March 9 with possession with intent to deliver meth. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison under the standard sentencing range.

According to the report by Detective David Dennis with the Island County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation was a joint operation involving his department, the Oak Harbor Police and Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

The investigators received a search warrant for O&J Sales on Goldie Road based on “multiple controlled buys” of narcotics from Brown, Dennis wrote. The Island County High Risk Entry and Arrest Team served the warrant March 5.

In the bathroom of the office building, the investigators found a “smoking device.” They discovered a total of 64 grams of a “clear, crystalline substance” suspected of being meth inside a microwave in the bathroom.

In the main office, the investigators found 30 more grams of suspected meth inside an open safe, the report states.

In all, the 94 grams of meth has a street value of about $9,000, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

In an interview with the detective, Brown said he does not have control over who has access to his office. He said he does not use or sell drugs, the report states.

Contact Whidbey News Times Assistant editor Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewsgroup.com or 360.675.6611 ext. 5056.

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