Two arrested in drug sting at Clarkston motel

A Clarkston woman and Port Orchard, Wash., man were arrested for felony possession with intent to deliver heroin and possession of methamphetamine in a Quad Cities Drug Task Force sting.

Nicole M. Lawing, 29, and Kenneth R. Brock, 30, were arrested Wednesday at Motel 6 in Clarkston after law enforcement officers with the task force obtained a search warrant for Room 232 where the couple were residing.

Asotin County Judge Tina Kernan set a $20,000 bond on Lawing and Brock in hearings held Thursday.

Police say a confidential informant told them about a couple from western Washington who come to the area to sell heroin. The informant described the vehicle, a Hyundai Santa Fe, and officers surveilled the vehicle at the Residence Inn in Pullman on the second week of September. Police later coincidentally saw the vehicle in Clarkston going to storage units on the 1800 block of Sixth Avenue, court records said.

During the third and fourth week of September, an officer made “several successful controlled buys” of heroin and methamphetamine from Lawing and Brock using money that was recorded before the buy by the officer. On Tuesday, a search warrant was granted for the hotel room the two were staying at in Clarkston. Police arrested both Lawing and Brock at the scene, court records said.

Police found 39 grams of heroin, 3 grams of methamphetamine in a safe and an unspecified small amount of methamphetamine in a backpack with Brock’s name on it, drug paraphernalia including digital scales in the room and in the vehicle, plastic bags and $2,200 in cash on Brock and $1,789 in cash in Lawing’s possession, though neither have a job. Money found on Brock included the recorded money from the drug buys by an undercover officer, court records said.

The maximum penalty in Washington for felony possession of heroin with intent to deliver is 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

The maximum penalty in Washington for felony possession of methamphetamine is five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

There is also a mandatory civil penalty on each charge, if convicted, of a $1,000 fine, which is doubled to $2,000 if there is a prior drug conviction.

Lawing and Brock each have an initial arraignment set for Oct. 12.

Wells may be contacted at mwells@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2275.