A well-known drug house located on Corbridge Road in Monroe's Farm at Woods Creek neighborhood has been shut down by the Monroe Police Department after an extensive investigation that began in January.
Homeowner Denise Bruce, 58, was arrested and booked into Snohomish County Jail on Wednesday, April 6, on suspicion of felony unlawful use of a building for drug purposes. Her 30-year-old daughter, Jennifer, was arrested on a duplicate charge, along with warrants for shoplifting and possession of drug paraphernalia. Denise was released on a $5,000 bond a few hours later and Jennifer was bailed out on April 9. Charges are pending by the Snohomish County Prosecutor's Office.
Police documents state Denise Bruce rented out rooms to known drug dealers in order to support her and her daughter's heroin habit. She allegedly charged her tenants a certain amount of heroin per day, sometimes receiving payments of meth as a bonus. When one heroin dealer went to jail, she immediately moved another one in, documents state, allowing them to use her vehicle and home to sell illegal narcotics.
According to investigators, discarded needles have been dropped on sidewalks where kids play, and neighbors have been plagued by vehicles constantly coming and going at all hours. One neighbor even reported drug-seekers occasionally knocking on her door by mistake.
These types of incidents prompted neighbors to contact the Monroe Police Department in January, the reports immediately catching the attention of Officer Scott Kornish on the ProAct Team, who has extensive history with the Corbridge house.
After a 1 -+ year long investigation that started in 2013, Kornish arrested Denise Bruce on July 3, 2014, for felony unlawful use of a building for drug purposes. She was convicted and sentenced to 240 hours of community service and a term of community supervision.
"During that period of time, the house was quiet,GÇ¥ Kornish said. "Right after her supervision ended, it started getting active again.GÇ¥
After hearing Denise had allegedly resumed her former activities, the ProAct Team immediately opened a new investigation. ProAct is a specialized three-person team that focuses on recurrent criminal behavior, and is made up of Sgt. Ryan Irving, Officer Nate Erdmann and Kornish.
Kornish conducted hours of surveillance on the Corbridge home, sometimes for 11-plus hours at a stretch, checking license plates and who came and went.
"Eighty-five percent of the people that were going there I knew were either heroin addicts, meth addicts or dealers,GÇ¥ Kornish said. "Multiple dealers would go to the house.GÇ¥
Individuals were arrested and would give information on what was going on inside the home. Key players were identified and different strategies were implemented to help officers collect the evidence needed to build a strong case. Kornish and other ProAct members continually looked for ways to enhance the investigation.
Investigations like Corbridge take time and are labor intensive, said Monroe Police Department Director of Communications Debbie Willis. It can also be frustrating for neighbors, who wonder why it seems like nothing is being done.
"It feels like nothing is going on, but there's a lot going on,GÇ¥ Willis said. "They just don't see it until we get to the point that we can actually make some arrests.GÇ¥
Kornish also sat outside another known drug house on South Lewis Street, running license plates, watching for familiar faces and looking for connections.
Officers arrested Christopher Elvert, a known drug dealer and one of Denise's tenants, on March 29. Kornish was familiar with Elvert because he had also been a tenant of Denise's during the 2013 investigation.
Officers seized Denise Bruce's vehicle, which Elvert was allegedly using to deliver drugs. A woman with Elvert was also arrested and released the next day. Elvert remains in Snohomish County Jail on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance without a prescription.
Officers obtained a search warrant for the house on Corbridge, which was served on March 30. Officers discovered a large amount of drug paraphernalia throughout the residence.
"Multiple drug ledgers and diaries were located in Denise's room proving she had knowledge of the tenant drug dealers' illegal drug sales, use of her vehicle for the purpose of sales and larger purchases of illegal drugs and illegal drug rent payments provide to her by the drug dealers,GÇ¥ according to arrest documents.
Recovered documents revealed Denise's payment schedule for use of her vehicle, which included different amounts of heroin for different lengths of time, according to police documents, and she charged tenants .2 grams of heroin per day to live in her house.
According to police documents, one of the tenants at Corbridge was questioned, and confirmed the amount of heroin needed to stay. He confirmed what officers already knew; that Denise would share the drugs with her daughter who was essentially a partner in the illegal operation, documents state.
"She was working as an agent for her mother,GÇ¥ Kornish said. "They were very close. She would collect debt for her mom.GÇ¥
A search warrant served on a cellphone used by Denise and Jennifer also allegedly confirmed this. Kornish combed through each diary, ledger and paper document confiscated during the search.
"I had to go through all the evidence. I read every ledger and every document,GÇ¥ Kornish said. "I wanted to be thorough with it.GÇ¥
A picture emerged as to what had happened since Denise's arrest in 2014. Kornish said he assumed the house quieted down because she was immersed in her community service and supervision, but it turned out she had received a $70,000 inheritance after the death of her mother. He now suspects the house was quiet because she had funds available to sustain her habit and didn't need tenants.
"That is the reason I believe that she did not have tenants coming in,GÇ¥ Kornish said.
Once the money was gone, she allegedly picked up where she left off.
Kornish is hopeful for a different outcome this time, but prepared for a third round if the drug activity picks up again.
"The first time took a year and a half, this time took three months, the next time's going to be three weeks,GÇ¥ Kornish said.
Denise needs help, he said; she needs to get treatment.
"She needs to get clean. Realistically, she needs to move out of the valley because she knows too many drug dealers,GÇ¥ Kornish said. "Drug dealers will continue to come to that house.GÇ¥
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment