Two from Port Angeles charged with selling, possession of heroin

PORT ANGELES — Two Port Angeles residents allegedly found with some $20,000 worth of heroin will be arraigned Friday in Clallam County Superior Court.

Bryan Lee Constant, 28, and Kelsea Joan Kuhnert, 20, were charged Monday with delivery of heroin and possession with intent to manufacture or deliver heroin.

Enhancements were added to the delivery charges because the alleged sales took place within 1,000 feet of a school bus stop, court papers said.

Clallam County Superior Court Judge Christopher Melly set Constant’s bail at $10,000 and Kuhnert’s bail at $5,000. Both remained in custody Wednesday.

They were arrested Saturday after a four-month Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team investigation.

After their pickup truck arrived at an apartment building in the 1000 block of West 18th Street in Port Angeles, detectives said they found 97 grams of heroin in the pickup, according to court documents.

Street value

At $200 per gram, the street value of the heroin was about $20,000, according to OPNET Supervisor Jason Viada.

Detectives say the pair sold heroin near the corner of 10th and Pine streets in Port Angeles on May 30 near a school bus stop, according to Viada.

Investigators also allege that Constant and Kuhnert transported the drug from the Everett area to Port Angeles last week with intent to deliver it in Clallam County.

“OPNET’s top priority is the investigation of heroin cases, especially cases involving people who go to the city and bring heroin back into our communities,” Viada said in a Wednesday OPNET statement.

Constant is a former OPNET informant who had knowledge of the methods used by the multi-agency drug task force to apprehend drug dealers, according to the certification for probable cause.

A middle man who allegedly bought heroin from Constant and sold it to another informant pointed investigators to his alleged supplier, court papers said.

After his arrest, Constant told Viada that he and Kuhnert have a drug-addicted newborn who is a patient at an Everett hospital.

Delivery of a controlled substance and possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance are Class B felonies that carry a maximum sentences of 10 years in prison.

Other cases

In other OPNET cases:

■ Christina L. Messenger, 52, of Port Angeles was sentenced Aug. 26 to two years’ probation after pleading guilty to selling methamphetamine in February 2013.

■ Anthony L. Reynonds, 25, of Port Angeles was sentenced Aug. 7 to two years’ probation after pleading guilty to selling heroin May 7.

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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.

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