TACOMA, WA – On October 21, 2016, Michael Walter Wood, 57, a defendant with 13 prior felony convictions, was sentenced to 40 years in prison. He was convicted of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver within 1,000 feet of a school bus stop while armed with a firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree.
“Getting career criminals off the street makes our community safer,” said Prosecutor Mark Lindquist. “That’s the goal of our new High Priority Offender program.”
On December 21, 2015, deputies served a search warrant on Wood's car and residence after an undercover narcotics investigation by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department. Wood was detained as he exited his car. He stated that his room was in the back of the trailer and that the officers would find "everything" there.
Wood told the deputies they would find "meth, coke, and heroin" in his room along with an unloaded gun on his bed. The officers secured the residence and located a .357 caliber revolver on the bed.
Deputies also found five magazines for a Glock .40, a digital scale, Ziploc baggies, $2095 in cash, small 1x1 inch baggies, scissors with black residue, approximately 332 grams of methamphetamine, 98 grams of heroin, 11 grams of cocaine and 180 tramadol pills. The substances later field tested positive. The street value of the seized drugs is over $25,000.
Deputies located three school bus stops within 1,000 feet of the defendant's residence. Wood's criminal history includes 13 felony convictions.
The High Priority Offender Program uses data, technology and intel to identify and target the small percentage of offenders who are causing a large percentage of crimes. The goal is to reduce crime by focusing resources on chronic offenders.