Man sentenced for drug operation on Orcas

An Orcas Island man, the target of a home-invasion about a year ago by a would-be armed robber, was dealt a 20-month prison term last week after pleading guilty to a series of felony drug and weapons crimes.

On Nov. 14, David Atanas Andreev, 40, pleaded guilty in San Juan County Superior Court to two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, one count of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and to one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, a Class B felony.

In the sentence handed down by Judge Don Eaton, Andreev was ordered to serve a total of 20 months in prison, the prison-term sought by prosecutors and maximum allowed under state sentencing standards given the 40-year-old’s criminal history, and to pay $1,050 in fines and fees. Andreev, who had been released on $75,000 bail pending trial, was taken into custody immediately after the sentence was handed down.

Convicted in early 2006 of first-degree possession of stolen property, a felony offense, Andreev was prohibited from owning or having firearms in his possession. Authorities confiscated a .22-caliber collapsable rifle and a .32-caliber handgun reportedly stolen from a San Juan Island home when they arrested Andreev at the Rosario-area home on drug and weapons charges in mid-June.

Sheriff’s deputies, assisted by a Bellingham-based K-9 unit, reportedly seized cash, scales, packaging materials, the two firearms, eight ounces of packaged marijuana and 24 grams of methamphetamine at the time of the arrest.

According to court documents, the arrest and subsequent conviction were the culmination of a four-month-long investigation into suspicious activity in and around the Geiser Way home that Andreev and another individual, along with four dogs, moved into without the knowledge or permission of the home owner more than two years ago. That activity, marked by a steady stream of cars at all hours of the day, many of which reportedly stayed only briefly, prompted numerous complaints to the sheriff’s department and a neighborhood meeting in April which was attended, at the neighbors’ request, by the county prosecuting attorney, Randy Gaylord, an Orcas Island resident.

“People need to know that they can influence the way these cases turn out,” Gaylord said. “I greatly appreciate the willingness of Andreev’s neighbors to speak out against the illegal drug activity on their street.”

Neighbors would later establish a neighborhood watch and placed phony surveillance cameras in the area, and post warning signs along the shared narrow roadway, in an attempt to curtail what many were convinced was the constant dealing of drugs out of the home Andreev was “squatting” in.

Gaylord described the sentence as a “high-end, standard range sentence.”  He said that at the sentencing hearing, Andreev spoke, apologized for his conduct and “tried to minimize it.”

Gaylord acknowledged that to many, this sentence would seem light, but he said it fits the range that the legislature fixed as part of the sentencing process.

According to court documents, authorities believe Andreev was targeted by a would-be armed robber a year ago in December because the assailant, a 25-year-old longtime acquaintance of Andreev’s, thought there would be a large amount of cash inside the home. The plot failed when a bandana fell from the man’s face during the break-in and he was recognized; he then fled the home. He was later convicted of attempted assault and burglary.

Orcas resident David Thompson convicted of assault, now on the run

After a jury trial in October, David Thompson was convicted of Assault in the Second Degree with a Deadly Weapon and Felony Harrassment.  The charges arose out an incident where Thompson threatened to kill three young men and pointed a gun at them because they would not let Thompson kill their dog.

After the jury convicted Thompson, he failed to appear for his sentencing hearing.  Thompson has been at large since Oct. 31.  The bail posted in his case was forfeited.

Prosecutor Randall Gaylord said that he expected Thompson to be picked up someday and brought back here for sentencing.