Drivers between Cosmopolis and South Aberdeen were stymied for a few hours as the Grays Harbor Drug Task Force, with support from the Crisis Response Unit, attempted to serve a warrant on the suspect in an investigation.
While the subject, 44-year-old Fayce Loc Simpson, was not in residence and is still being sought by the police, the task force, with support from the CRU team, searched the residence on the 800 block of Northwest Avenue near the Aberdeen/Cosmopolis border.
“It’s been about a nine-month investigation,” said Sgt. Darrin King, head of the task force. “The subject of the search was not there.”
Simpson is wanted for trafficking and delivery of controlled substances. The CRU team, the county’s go-to unit for serious incidents, was present supporting the operation due to Simpson’s criminal history and on intelligence that he might be armed, King said.
After investigating the residence, members of the task force found evidence of drug manufacturing and sent samples to the state crime lab for testing, King said in a phone interview after the raid.
“We came to assist with the warrant based on the nature of the call and the history of the suspect,” said Cmdr. Steve Timmons of the Aberdeen Police Department.
The CRU team has more nonlethal options at its disposal for resolving a situation than regular officers usually carry, King said. No shots were fired, though some noisemakers — noise flash diversionary devices, commonly referred to as flashbangs — were used. The residents present were unharmed, King said; one was arrested on a separate outstanding warrant, while the others were released.
“We didn’t want to take any chances and have the public get hurt,” Simpson said. “We don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
Traffic was blocked off in both directions at approximately 8:30 a.m., King said, and resumed at approximately 11:30. a.m.
Anyone with information on Simpson’s whereabouts is asked to call the Aberdeen Police Department’s business line at 360-533-3180, King said.
Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.
Traffic was blocked on Northwest Boulevard for a police operation on Wednesday morning, August 2. (Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World)
Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World Members of the county’s Crisis Response Unit debrief after supporting a Drug Task Force operation in Aberdeen on Wednesday morning.
Michael S. Lockett / The Daily World Members of the county’s Drug Task Force search a house as part of a criminal investigation in Aberdeen on Wednesday morning.
