County public works spokesman arrested for marijuana possession

The West Sound Narcotics Enforcement Team arrested Doug Bear, the Kitsap County Public Works Department spokesman, on April 7 for possession of less than 40 grams of marijuana, a misdemeanor.

“He was taken into custody, transported to Kitsap County Jail and released on personal recognizance,” said Deputy Scott Wilson, a spokesman for the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office

Bear was in jail for about as long as it took to get his mugshot, Wilson said.

He was arrested during a search of Robert's Clip Joint at the Perry Avenue Mall, 2901 Perry Ave., in Bremerton at 11:12 a.m. on Thursday.

The Narcotics Team found 25 bags, or 154 grams, of marijuana and a glass picture frame with straws that had cocaine residue at the shop, and they discovered an additional 111 marijuana plants at the home of the owner, 58-year-old Robert Lee Rawlings of Bremerton.

“The processed marijuana was worth around $4,000,” said Sgt. James Mjor, of West Sound Narcotics, “and a conservative estimate on the plants is roughly about $143,000 for the plants.”

“That’s on the very low end,” he said, adding that if Rawlings grew the plants well, and “knew what he was doing,” he probably could have gotten a lot more than that.

“There was an effort to say that this was a medicinal grow,” said Mjor, “however, he was way over his alloted amount per law.”

Additionally, there were several “controlled purchases” with an informant from the West Sound Narcotics Enforcement Team, who didn’t have a medical marijuana card.

And Bear didn’t have a medical marijuana card, either.

“They did not have paperwork,” said Mjor. “It’s an illegal growing operation.”

Bear started a planned vacation on Thursday morning, said Randy Castell, Kitsap County’s director of public works.

He’s expected to return on Monday.

“The vacation was scheduled before any of this,” said Castell.

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