PORT ANGELES — A Forks man has been charged with one count of controlled substance endangerment in a case involving an 18-month-old child.
John P. Robinson III, 35, of Forks was charged Wednesday in Clallam County Superior Court with a special allegation for domestic violence — family or household member. He was arrested Thursday after the child was found in a bedroom filled with what turned out to be methamphetamine smoke, according to a press release from the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
The charge is a Class B felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine.
Robinson remains in the Clallam County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. No court date has been set.
According to the motion for determination of probable cause filed Wednesday, the level of methamphetamine detected in the child’s hair was 10,721 picograms per milligram of hair, more than 100 times the test threshold of 100 picograms per milligram. The test also showed the child’s hair contained 695 picograms per milligram of amphetamine.
The case began Aug. 9 when Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team detectives assisted the state Department of Corrections in arresting a man with an active warrant at his residence in the 300 block of South Barr Road, the release stated.
When they arrived, the officers attempted contacting the man at the door, but there was no answer. Officers observed through the window an estimated an 18-month-old child inside with no adult supervision.
After knocking on the front door for an extended period with no answer, an officer knocked on a rear bedroom window and then several adults came out of the bedroom and left the residence, according to the release.
When officers entered the residence to locate the man, they saw a white cloud of smoke in the rear bedroom where the adults had been. The smell of the smoke “was not consistent with tobacco or marijuana use,” the release stated.
Robinson was arrested without incident after he was found hiding under a pile of laundry.
Officers found Robinson was in possession of suspected methamphetamine and paraphernalia where he had been hiding. DOC officers also saw hypodermic needles in the bathroom and in the hallway a short distance from the room where the child had been left unattended, the release stated.
Suspected methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin, along with drug paraphernalia, also were located inside the residence.
OPNET detectives took the child into protective custody and then obtained a search warrant to test the child’s hair for the presence of controlled substances, according to the release.
Test results received Aug. 22 “indicated a positive result for the presence of methamphetamine.”
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at brian.gawley@soundpublishing.com.
