Washington man accused of having enough fentanyl to kill 278,000 people after getting clemency from Dem gov

 

A Washington man arrested on nearly a dozen drug and weapons charges on Thursday had been granted clemency by former Gov. Jay Inslee in 2019.

The arrest of Percy Levy, 54, was first reported in the Lynwood Times, a Snohomish County newspaper.

The Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force made the arrest after a 16-month investigation. The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said the suspect was apprehended during a traffic stop in Everett.

A warrant was later served on the suspect’s home, where authorities said detectives recovered 2,818 grams of powder cocaine, 14.7 grams of rock cocaine and 556 grams of fentanyl. That is enough fentanyl to kill approximately 278,000, according to the US Drug Enforcement Agency, which says just 2 milligrams of the substance could be deadly.

Detectives also found packaging material, a digital scale and a handgun inside the home.

The suspect was arrested for unlawful possession of firearm, possession of stolen firearm and multiple counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

Levy was charged with 11 Class B Felony charges, according to online inmate records of the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Bureau. He is being held on a $1.5 million bond.

Inslee granted Levy clemency in 2019, according to a document from the state Clemency and Pardons Board.

Levy has a criminal history dating back to when he was 13 years old, according to the Lynwood Times. He spent 17 years in prison after a 2002 arrest for a drug house robbery.

Inslee’s decision regarding Levy in 2019 came after the 2021 of State v. Blake ruling that reclassified possession of controlled substances as a misdemeanor, the paper reported.

In the six years following his clemency, Levy dedicated himself to criminal justice reform, according to the newspaper.

He worked as a community outreach specialist for the Washington Defender Association and founded Redemption Auto, a car dealership in Everett. Levy is also treasurer on the Board of the Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County chapter.

The sheriff’s office said the matter remains under investigation.