Offered Chance to Leave Drug Life, Alleged Seattle Dealer is Soon Arrested
Last week, Gerald Cowles was one of more than a dozen alleged drug dealers who attended an invitation-only meeting with Seattle authorities at which they were given an unusual choice: Either focus their future activities in a lawful manner—for which they were offered education, job-training, housing assistance and substance-abuse help—or face prosecution based on evidence collected during a yearlong undercover operation.
The next evening, according to a spokesman for the King County prosecutor, Cowles was arrested after he was found with a crack pipe in his possession. The office then hustled to make good on the promise of prosecution, filing a felony drug case yesterday against the 39-year-old based on two alleged drug sales in May, reports the Seattle Times.
Despite Cowles’ claimed downfall, the unusual choice offered by Seattle authorities to the alleged drug dealers is reportedly patterned on programs elsewhere that have had noteworthy success. Seattle also has considerably reduced drug traffic by focusing on buyers and obtaining court orders that require drug users to stay away from known drug areas, City Attorney Tom Carr tells the Times.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Stop Dealing Or We’ll Prosecute, Officials Tell 12 Alleged Seattle Drug-Pushers”
Washington Post: “One-Woman Argument For Drug Treatment”
Updated at 12 p.m. to link to related Washington Post article.
