Sequim: Alleged leader of statewide drug ring faces 174 felony charges

SEQUIM — Prosecutors on Thursday filed 174 felony charges against a Sequim man accused of operating a statewide drug ring masked by a Sequim trucking company.

The charges against Douglas Eugene Baker, owner of Hard Rock Trucking, culminate a years-long drug investigation and come almost three months after he and eight other people were arrested and released.

Baker, 48, of 166 Old Dad’s Road, is charged in Clallam County Superior Court with 172 counts of delivery of cocaine, one count of first-degree defrauding of a public utility and one count of cocaine possession.

His wife, Vernell Francine Baker, was charged Thursday with one count of cocaine possession.

They have been summoned to appear in Superior Court on Thursday at 1 p.m., Clallam County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Prentiss said.

Seven other people who are under investigation in connection with the alleged drug ring have not been charged, but prosecutors plan to file charges against them, Prentiss said.

The Bakers may also face additional charges, he said.

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The rest of this story appears in the Friday/Saturday Peninsula Daily News Clallam County edition. Click on “Subscribe” to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.

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