From Clallam County Superior Court
Ryan J. Charles-Elofson, 23, of Clallam County, was sentenced in Clallam County Superior Court on July 11 to 90 days in jail and two years probation after pleading guilty to possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine and unlawful possession of a loaded shotgun in a motor vehicle. Charles-Elofson’s case began in March 2011 when OPNET served a search warrant at a home near the intersection of Eleventh and Laurel streets in Port Angeles. During the search of the home, Charles-Elofson arrived at the residence in a vehicle that was transporting methamphetamine for delivery and a loaded shotgun, detectives said.
James G. “Chipper” Rode, 46, of Seiku, remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending further proceedings on alleged federal firearms and narcotics law violations. A federal grand jury issued a true bill on July 12, formally documenting they heard sufficient evidence to believe Rode committed the violations. A federal judge will consider whether or not to indict Rode on the federal charges. Rode was arrested earlier this year following an Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team investigation during which OPNET allegedly purchased narcotics from Rode on five separate occasions. OPNET then served a search warrant at Rode’s home where they arrested him and recovered several firearms along with other evidence.
Raymond U. Arndt Jr., 34, of Port Angeles, will spend more than five years in prison after pleading guilty to vehicular assault. Clallam County Superior Court Judge S. Brooke Taylor sentenced Arndt to 62 months confinement. Arndt admitted he was drunk and driving his car when he crashed into two other cars near Palo Alto Road on U.S. Highway 101 on Feb. 11, 2012, causing a car wreck in which Christopher Sherwood, 40, of Victoria, British Columbia, was seriously injured. A total of seven people were injured in that wreck, though Sherwood suffered the worst injuries. Arndt requested the court stay his sentence so he could get married but Taylor denied the request and ordered Arndt to begin his confinement immediately.
Richard L. Amundson, 18, of Port Angeles, was sentenced to two years community custody and residential drug treatment after pleading guilty to residential burglary, theft of a firearm and theft in the first degree. Amundson and 20-year-old Blake Stensland broke into a house on Shamrock Lane in the Agnew area Feb. 28, stealing a safe containing $40,000, a rifle, jewelry and other items, according to police. Stensland was similarly sentenced in May.
Cheryl A. King, 53, of Port Angeles, pleaded guilty July 11 to two counts of delivery of heroin. The guilty plea was a result of an OPNET investigation during the summer of 2011 when detectives purchased heroin from King on four separate occasions. King was then arrested by OPNET in January 2012 and charged with four counts of delivery of heroin within 1,000 feet of a school bus stop. King was out of jail custody pending court proceedings on June 21 when she failed to appear for a hearing in Clallam County Superior Court. OPNET detectives were present and a judge issued a warrant for the arrest of King. The detectives then immediately left the courthouse, located King and arrested her. King was booked into the Clallam County jail and was released after posting $2,500 bail. Sentencing is scheduled for July 31.
