Forks man arrested with son found guilty of drug charge

PORT ANGELES — A Clallam County jury has convicted Tommy L. Cook Sr. of possession with intent to deliver heroin.

Cook, 58, of Forks was found guilty Nov. 28 after a three-day trial in Clallam County Superior Court. His sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday.

Cook and his son, Tommy Cook Jr., were arrested last summer in an Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team (OPNET) operation with assistance from a State Patrol SWAT team, court papers said.

OPNET developed probable cause that Tommy Cook Jr. had been selling heroin for cash or trading it for benzodiazepines, court papers said.

Two sales occurred in Tommy Cook Jr.’s motor in his motor home on Tommy Cook Sr.’s property on the 8oo block of South G Street in Forks in May and June, investigators said.

The Cooks were arrested without incident at the property June 28, court papers said.

Detectives said they found tin foil with suspected heroin residue, digital scales and a semi-automatic pistol in Tommy Cook Jr.’s motor home.

Tommy Cook Jr. is awaiting a Jan. 28 trial on two counts of delivery of heroin, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and bail jumping.

OPNET obtained a search warrant to look for drugs and packaging equipment in Tommy Cook Sr.’s residence.

Detectives found more than 64 grams of suspected heroin in four baggies and two containers, $2,750 in cash and two sets of digital scales inside the residence, Detective Jeff Pickrell wrote in the affidavit for probable cause.

Tommy Cook Sr. told investigators that he had purchased a half ounce of heroin for $600 about a week prior, Pickrell said.

At trial, Tommy Cook Sr. said he was only a heroin addict and not a dealer, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said.

Tommy Cook Sr. claimed that the heroin found in his home was his son’s, the Sheriff’s Office said.

In a special verdict, the jury found that Tommy Cook Sr. had possessed and intended to deliver heroin within 1,000 feet of a school bus stop, which could enhance the length of his sentence.

Tommy Cook Jr. posted a $200,000 bail bond July 2. He was arrested at the Klahowya Campground after a three-hour standoff July 13.

He was prohibited from possessing firearms because of his prior convictions, Pickrell said.

Tommy Cook Jr. is also charged in a separate case with one count of possession with intent to manufacture or deliver heroin, four counts of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a short barreled rifle and possession of a clonazepam for crimes he allegedly committed in December 2017.

A trial in that case is scheduled for Jan. 14.

Tommy Cook Jr. is being held in the Clallam County jail on $500,000 bail.

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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.