PORT TOWNSEND — One of the three men charged after a Bainbridge Island Police Department drug investigation led officers to Port Townsend has been identified as the chief financial officer for the Olympic Area Agency on Aging, which serves elderly in both Jefferson and Clallam counties.
Ronald Ray Hawk, 64, was arrested May 1 on investigation of possession of heroin at his home at 2016 Summit Way.
Hawk was arrested along with Mark Edward Ohl, 35, and David Carl Roberts, 38, when Bainbridge Island police served a warrant at the house — where all three were listed as residents — as part of an ongoing investigation into drug activity in Kitsap County.
A telephone number could not be found for Hawk to get his comment.
At his initial appearance May 4 in Jefferson County Superior Court, Hawk was released on his own recognizance.
He was arraigned May 15 and entered a not-guilty plea on one count of possession of heroin.
His trial has been set for Aug. 24 and 25.
Both Ohl and Roberts have been charged with delivery of cocaine.
Hawk, who has been the CFO at the agency for a little more than seven years, is now on administrative leave, Executive Director Roy Walker said.
“But we don’t believe there has been any crossover with his alleged criminal actions and his time spent here,” Walker said.
Walker said the agency has been counting checks, reviewing records and verifying deposits.
During the past seven years, the state Auditor’s Office has not raised any questions about the agency’s financial records, Walker said.
The agency receives state and federal monies, Walker said, so it is audited on a regular basis.
Saw it in newspaper
Walker learned about Hawk’s arrest on May 5 when he read in the Peninsula Daily News about a Bainbridge Island Police Department investigation that netted arrests.
That same day, the state auditor contacted him, and they began reviewing their records, he said.
“We’ve been working diligently on this,” Walker said.
“In all, it appears his accounting work has been very good.
“That bodes well to him professionally, but this is still obviously a blow to us.”
The agency serves at least 1,300 people in Jefferson, Clallam, Grays Harbor and Pacific counties.
A Bainbridge Island police spokeswoman said that police found digital weighing scales, black tar heroin and marijuana at the Summit Way home where the three men were arrested.
Roberts has been charged with delivery of cocaine for allegedly selling 1.7 grams to a confidential informant at the house April 23.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge on May 15 and posted bail in the amount of a $2,500 bond May 19. His trial has been set for July 13 and 14.
Ohl has been charged with delivery of cocaine as well as three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm.
Ohl is listed as previously being convicted of a felony and therefore cannot be in possession of any type of gun.
Ohl pleaded not guilty to all four charges on May 15 and posted bail in the amount of a $20,000 bond May 20. His trial is set for July 6 and 7.
The Bainbridge Island Police Department has not released details about the drug investigation in Kitsap and Jefferson counties.
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Jefferson County reporter Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at erik.hidle@peninsuladailynews.com.
