Snakes complicate drug raid in Oak Harbor

A couple of large snakes on the loose enlivened the service of a search warrant at an Oak Harbor apartment June 19, according to the Oak Harbor Police.

Detective Sgt. Teri Gardner explained that the department’s high-risk entry team assisted investigators with entry into the apartment. Detective Carl Seim, the drug enforcement officer, received the search warrant after working for nearly a year on tips about drug dealing at Olympic apartments on E. Whidbey Avenue.

Before the detectives started searching, the residents warned them that a boa constrictor and a python were crawling around the apartment somewhere. Gardner said the owners let the snakes travel at will around the home, which made the search a little creepy.

“I hope to never have to do that again,” she said.

The detectives found a 7-foot boa during the search, but the python remained hidden behind the refrigerator. Seim placed the lunker in an aquarium.

Besides the snake, the detectives found a small amount of methamphetamine, a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Gardner said they arrested 42-year-old Robert Greene on suspicion of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, possession of meth and possession of drug paraphernalia.

In addition, they arrested Greene’s 19-year-old son on suspicion of possession of paraphernalia. A 20-year-old guest at the apartment was also arrested on suspicion of possessing meth and pot.

Gardner said the police have received a lot of complaints over the years about possible drug-related traffic at the apartments. She said the county health department has tested a number of units for meth contamination, and the police have requested a sampling in Greene’s apartment.

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

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