A Skagit County, Washington pastor is in hot water after being arrested with nearly three pounds of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine. Steve Parker, 57, who admitted "he leads a double life," bragged that he was a good drug dealer. That's a strange flex.
His double life.
Parker led a business helping people that suffer from addiction get housing and jobs while simultaneously living as a high-level drug trafficker dealing Fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and meth.
HeraldNet reports:
Online, Parker lists himself as an officer of both Nest Ministries and Omni-Mana Services, according to the charges filed on Jan. 20. State filings show "Rev Steve Parker" is the head of Omni-Mana. Nest Ministries is inactive.
"Omni Mana helps people who have had substance abuse or mental health issues find employment," an online resource to connect people with medical help reports. "Helps those with felonies as well."
Both nonprofits are reportedly run out of a building on Olympic Avenue in downtown Arlington. Calls to Nest Ministries and Omni Manna Services on Monday were not answered.
He even has two homes. He's a real piece of work.
Skagit County drug squad detectives learned Parker has two homes, one on Highway 530 between Arlington and Darrington and another in Tulalip. Sources told them he dealt drugs in Snohomish, Skagit, and Whatcom counties.
Investigators conducted several undercover drug deals with Parker, according to court papers.
While he was driving on Jan. 19 in Mount Vernon, police arrested Parker. He had about 2 ounces of fentanyl powder and a loaded handgun, according to the charges.
When searching Parker's car, the authorities discovered 2.7 pounds of meth, over 2,000 counterfeit pills containing Fentanyl, another ounce of Fentanyl, and cocaine, according to prosecutors. They also found scales and other items that are used for drug distribution.
It gets worse.
Via Yahoo News:
Parker said his home in Tulalip -- where he lives with his girlfriend -- is where he conducts his criminal business. His Arlington home is where his wife and mother-in-law live, along with fourteen sex offenders, according to a sex offender database.
One of the sex offenders, Raymond Joe Wagner, was sentenced in 2015 to molesting two preteen girls over the course of about three years.
Detectives serving a search warrant on the Tulalip home saw several subjects flee and hide when they arrived.
Detectives who searched the Arlington home confirmed none of the residents were aware of Parker's criminal activities.
Why did he have sex offenders living with him and his wife? A total of 30 firearms were recovered at both homes, too. Parker is facing seven felony charges, four for possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance, one for conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance, one for money laundering, and another for maintaining a vehicle or building for drug trafficking.
Fentanyl is 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin. Researchers found a jaw-dropping 110,236 people died in a single 12-month period from Fentanyl, including the nation’s children and youth in staggering numbers. Way to add to the problem, 'pastor.'
Please don't tell Sen. Marsha Blackburn about this. She gets upset when illegal drugs are seized. Thank you.
