PORT ANGELES — Bail of $2,500 was set Monday for a 68-year-old grandmother who allegedly tried to smuggle methamphetamine, heroin and Suboxone into Clallam Bay Corrections Center for her son, an inmate.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Brent Basden on Monday scheduled a 1 p.m. hearing Wednesday for the filing of criminal charges against Pauline Jeannette Beal of Maple Valley.
She remained in the county jail Monday afternoon for investigation of three charges of possession with intent to deliver heroin, methamphetamine and Suboxone, and third-degree introducing contraband into a detention or secure facility, a misdemeanor.
Pauline Beal was arrested Friday morning during a visit to the prison with her husband and granddaughter, according to the probable cause statement.
She was arrested after authorities intercepted phone calls between Beal and her son, Michael Donavan Beal, 45, of Maple Valley and learned she was bringing contraband into the facility, according to the probable cause statement by Sheriff’s Deputy Cody Anderson.
Michael Beal began serving a 23-year sentence in February on Pierce County charges, state Department of Corrections spokesman Jeremy Barclay said Monday.
Beal was convicted of first-degree manslaughter, vehicular homicide, hit and run resulting in death, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, and manufacturing or possession with intent to deliver drugs.
While being processed for the visit, Beal was asked if she was bringing contraband into the facility.
She first denied it, then said she was bringing tobacco for her son, according to the statement.
She was asked to sit on a towel that was sniffed by a DOC K9 that indicated the presence of a narcotic on the towel, according to the statement.
Taken to a rest room, Beal removed two packages from her waistband area that contained four packages of methamphetamine, heroin and Suboxone strips, which are available by prescription only, which she did not have, according to the statement.
The drugs weighed 1.38 ounces.
Beal said her son told her a woman would contact her, which happened May 14, according to the statement.
A day later, Beal met the woman, whom she did not know.
When she obtained the packages, she assumed they contained tobacco, she said.
Beal said she knew bringing tobacco into the prison is illegal, according to the statement.
Beal does not have a criminal history.
Harry Gasnick of Clallam Public Defender, representing Beal, asked that she be released on her own recognizance.
Basden set bail at half of what was sought by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Steve Johnson.
He said he was concerned about her alleged willingness to be part of and play a role in an act that could hamper “the safe operation of a correctional facility” and prove “potentially dangerous” correctional officers.
“The allegations are to be part of a kind of a pipeline,” Basden said.
Barclay said Monday there were 27 instances of drugs being intercepted in April while being taken to inmates at DOC facilities including Clallam Bay compared to 15 in April 2018.
“There are more individuals trying to introduce drug contraband into the correctional facilities,” Barclay said.
________
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsula dailynews.com.