Complaints Led To Duvall Bust
DUVALL
DUVALL - Complaints from citizens about drug dealing over the past several years led to the drug sweep Friday evening in which two Duvall city councilmen were arrested, police said yesterday.
Councilman Dave Zumwalt, 40, commonly known as Ernie, is being held at the King County Jail on suspicion of violating drug laws. He was to appear today at a bail hearing before a Seattle District Court judge.
At a news conference this morning in Duvall, Police Chief Glenn Merryman said Zumwalt was arrested in a car on state Highway 203, south of Valley Street, by members of the East Bellevue Drug Task Force.
The task force is a branch of the Bellevue Police Department.
Zumwalt was one of 20 people questioned in Duvall in connection with raids on two houses. A house on Kennedy Road and one on Big Road were searched.
Authorities said they seized marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine in addition to handguns and rifles, including a loaded M-1 carbine in the raids. There were no signs that methamphetamine was being manufactured, police said.
Six people were briefly taken into custody and subsequently released.
Zumwalt had been under surveillance for some time, Merryman said. As the search warrants were being served, police saw Zumwalt driving through town in his van.
He was stopped and searched; police alleged they found cocaine in his pocket and in the van. Another member of the City Council, Tom Loutsis, 31, was a passenger in Zumwalt's van. He was arrested, questioned and released.
The Eastside Narcotics Task Force will handle the investigation. Merryman said more arrests are possible.
Arrest warrants are expected to be issued for the owners of the two houses. They were not home at the time of the Friday raids and have not been seen since, Merryman said.
"I think `surprised and disappointed' sums up what we've been feeling around here," said Duvall Mayor Glen Kuntz.
Zumwalt, elected in 1995, is in his first term on the council. He works in the city of Bellevue's Street Maintenance Department.
Loutsis, a real-estate agent, was elected in 1993. He filed for re-election last week.
City Councilwoman Pat Fullmer, who is also mayor pro-tem, echoed Kuntz's dismay over the arrest and said she hoped the allegations were false.
News of the raid spread from street corners to shops in Duvall, where residents took news of Zumwalt's arrest with disappointment and resignation.
"I can imagine kids getting busted (for drugs), but not people running our town," said Carisa Hammons, 21.
Others worried over how the arrests would color images of Duvall, one of the fastest-growing cities in the county.
Sean Cavanagh's phone message number is 206-515-5688. His e-mail address is: scav-new@seatimes.com
Putsata Reang's phone message number is 425-515-5629. Her e-mail address is: prea-new@seatimes.com
Louis T. Corsaletti's phone message number is 425-515-5626. His e-mail address is: lcor-new@seatimes.com