Fire crew boss cited for drugs
A former U.S. Forest Service crew boss was cited for possession of marijuana hours after he appeared in federal court in Spokane on involuntary manslaughter charges in the deaths of four firefighters, the Washington State Patrol said.
The citation issued Thursday to Ellreese Daniels may have violated conditions a judge set for his release pending trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Hopkins said Tuesday.
Scott Morse, chief federal probation officer for Eastern Washington, said he could not comment on an ongoing pretrial case.
The issue could surface during a previously scheduled court hearing Jan. 30.
Daniels, 46, of East Wenatchee, was a passenger in a car pulled over Thursday on Interstate 90 west of Moses Lake, the patrol said in a release issued Monday.
He was cited for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Hours earlier, U.S. Magistrate Judge Cynthia Imbrognio had released Daniels on his own recognizance, with conditions that included standard court prohibitions against committing additional federal or state crimes or using drugs, court documents indicate.
Federal prosecutors have charged Daniels with four counts of manslaughter and seven counts of lying to investigators stemming from his actions in the Thirtymile fire in Okanogan County that killed four U.S. Forest Service firefighters in July 2001.
The charges carry penalties of up to six years in prison.
After leaving federal court, Daniels was riding in the front passenger seat of a car in which troopers said they found marijuana and two pipes in the glove box. Troopers also said Daniels was in possession of an open 24-ounce container of beer.
Daniels’ lawyer, Tina Hunt of the Federal Defenders Office, said she was surprised the State Patrol issued a press release on the traffic stop.
“From the little bit that I have seen, it doesn’t look like he was the one in possession of the drugs,” she said. “From the looks of it, I’m not too concerned about it.”
The 41-year-old driver was arrested for investigation of being under the influence of alcohol and drugs. She was also cited for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, and driving with a suspended license.
In the Thirtymile fire near Winthrop, firefighters Tom Craven, 30, Devin Weaver, 21, Jessica Johnson, 19, and Karen FitzPatrick, 18, died after they deployed fire shelters when the out-of-control wildfire swept up the Chewuch River Canyon. All the victims were from central Washington.
Prosecutors allege that Daniels failed to order the firefighters out of harm’s way as the flames advanced and then made false statements to Forest Service and Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators.