Trio Arrested For Selling Paper Towels As Drugs

Three people, including two West Central residents, are in custody after trying to pass off to an undercover police officer a rumpled ball of paper towel as crack cocaine.

Michael Gonia, 30, Sean Maclean, 29, and Jocelyn Painter, 22, were booked into the Spokane County jail for “delivery of a substance in lieu of a controlled substance.”

The deal went down on the 200 block of East Mission about 10 p.m. last Thursday. The three offered police the white ball as a rock of crack.

Though it’s not illegal to sell balls of paper towel, it is criminal to sell anything as a narcotic, said police spokesman Dick Cottam.

“It’s the same idea as armed robbery,” said Cottam. “You can just have your hand in your pocket, but if you say it’s a gun, it’s armed robbery.”

Other dealers have tried to pass off powder as heroin, although false sales are rare, said Cottam.

Dealers selling balls of paper towels to crack cocaine users run the risk of unsatisfied customers, said Cottam.

The three remained in the Spokane County jail Tuesday.

Dog finds man hiding under bed

David Osmonson might have thought the cops were bluffing when they said a police dog was coming to find him in his house.

But the K-9 unit was real, and so was Osmonson’s arrest for having three outstanding warrants. He was booked in the Spokane County jail.

Police visited an apartment at 1303 W. Grace Saturday after receiving a tip that the 40-year-old Osmonson was living there.

Unsure if Osmonson was armed, police yelled into the apartment, demanding the man come outside. When they heard no response, they unleased the police dog.

The dog found Osmonson hiding under a bed.

, DataTimes