PORT TOWNSEND — A Port Angeles woman arrested in Port Townsend after deputies said they found her with $100,000 worth of heroin posted bail last week but is now back in custody after a heroin overdose, authorities said.
Colette Marie Vail, 35, was arrested Monday after she posted bail on Friday, was hospitalized for a heroin overdose and then turned herself into the state Department of Corrections, according to Julie Trejo, Jefferson County deputy prosecuting attorney.
She is in the Forks jail after she was transferred from the Clallam County jail and will be transferred to the Jefferson County Jail in Port Hadlock at a time yet to be determined, Trejo said.
Vail originally was arrested July 22 traveling west on U.S. Highway 101 in Discovery Bay.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies said that she carried with her 803 grams of heroin, which had a street value of about $100,000.
Vail also had a warrant issued by the Department of Corrections.
She is charged with three controlled substance violations, one for possession and two for intent to distribute, along with driving with a suspended license.
Her trial was set for Nov. 30-Dec. 1. The dates now have been erased. Trejo said on Wednesday that she will request reinstatement of the trial dates at Vail’s next court appearance, which has not been scheduled yet.
Vail’s initial $250,000 bail was reduced last Friday to $25,000 by Superior Court Judge Keith Harper with the intention of balancing it with that of Marlen Ravelo, 47, who was a passenger in Vail’s car and is a codefendant in the case.
By the time of a court hearing scheduled Wednesday in Jefferson County Superior Court, which was set to address a suppression of evidence request, Vail had been taken into custody.
Trejo said that after her release on Friday, Vail overdosed on heroin over the weekend in Port Angeles and was hospitalized.
She turned herself in to the Department of Corrections in Port Angeles for heroin use, which is a bail violation, and was taken into custody, according to DOC communications director Jeremy Barclay.
She was taken to the Clallam County jail on Monday but jail personnel determined that she could not be accommodated there because of the number already incarcerated and was transferred to the Forks jail on Tuesday, according to Sgt. Don Wenzl.
Vail will be returned to Jefferson County after she has a Department of Corrections hearing “and they impose whatever sanctions they want to impose,” Trejo said.
The state hearing has not been scheduled, Barclay said.
On Wednesday, Vail’s court-appointed attorney Richard Davies asked Harper to reschedule the Jefferson County hearing to Sept. 25.
Vail’s failure to appear in the Jefferson County court on Wednesday should be excused, Davies said, because she was in custody and was unable to attend.
One of the conditions of release was for Vail to register for home monitoring which she was unable to do because of her arrest, Davies said.
In court, Davies characterized the overdose as “a medical emergency that caused her to be taken into custody.”
Trejo disagreed, saying Vail had violated the condition of release by taking drugs.
“The reduction of bail had to do with her cooperating with the investigation,” Trejo said.
“She is not in a condition to do that.”
Trejo requested reinstatement of the original $250,000 bail.
Harper on Wednesday set bail at $200,000 and issued a warrant for Vail’s arrest and return to Jefferson County.
“She failed to appear today and it was her ultimate responsibility to be here,” Harper said.
According to a probable cause statement on the July 22 arrest, a Jefferson County deputy pulled over a vehicle driven by Vail on U.S. Highway 101 near Discovery Bay because of an expired registration and then discovered suspected heroin wrapped in a burrito-like package.
The vehicle was taken to the sheriff’s Port Hadlock office, where a search warrant was obtained. Deputies said they found heroin, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
Ravelo, 47, who was released on her own recognizance, is charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to manufacture or deliver and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
Ravalo is scheduled for a court appearance at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 2 in Jefferson County Superior Court, 1820 Jefferson St.
She is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on Nov. 20 and a trial on Nov. 30-Dec. 1.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
