Police find drug evidence, stolen mail at hotel

Pullman police investigating suspicious activity at a hotel last week found evidence of drugs along with identification and mail stolen from Spokane and Kootenai counties, authorities said.

Officers were called to the Holiday Inn Express on the afternoon of May 12 because employees were concerned about two young men who had checked in around midnight. Throughout the night, the guests had made repeated trips to the front desk, asking for things like razors, towels and other hygiene products, according to the police report. When a worker brought towels to their room, she smelled something unusual, according to the report.

Officers went to the room, knocked on the door and talked to one of the tenants, Robert Neal Durall, 19, of Mukilteo, Wash. They asked if they could step into the room and he agreed, said Officer Mike Austin.

Once inside, they noted the room was messy, with clothes and food cartons strewn about, according to the report. The officers asked if they could look for illicit drugs and Durall consented. The other guest gave a false name and age. Police later determined he was a juvenile from Everett.

Throughout the visit, both men were cooperative, said Austin.

The officers discovered what appeared to be a pipe with what appeared to be marijuana residue in its bowl. They also found a locked Brinks lock box. After getting Durall’s permission and key, they opened it and found lighters, several baggies with white residue and a baggy with a white granular substance that appeared to be methamphetamine, according to the report.

The officers arrested both teens, who said they were homeless. “They told us they just put their things in the car and started driving,” according to the arrest report.

The room search also turned up several pieces of mail that had been stolen from rural mailboxes in Kootenai County as recently as the day before. Continuing the search, they found a driver’s license from a Spokane woman who had reported her purse stolen from the Spokane-area motel where she worked.

Now Pullman police are working with counterparts from Spokane and Kootenai counties to review the evidence for potential charges in the other jurisdictions.

Durall and the juvenile are being held on $10,000 bail and face drug charges at Whitman County court hearings scheduled later this week.