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Chief fired after 3rd arrest in 24 days!
DuPont fire chief fired after third arrest in 24 days
The Associated Press
7/8/03 7:12 AM
DUPONT, Wash. (AP) -- Fire Chief Rick Stillwaugh has been fired following his third arrest in 24 days, this time for investigation of driving a stolen vehicle, officials say.
"It's the third arrest," Mayor Penny Drost said Monday. "Sometimes you have to fish or cut bait."
On Sunday night a Washington State Patrol trooper stopped Stillwaugh on U.S. 97 near Blewett Pass in the Cascade Range, and found the 1994 Ford Taurus he was driving had been reported stolen earlier in the day in Wenatchee, about 15 miles to the east.
Stillwaugh, who was paid $62,800 a year as head of the 14-member firefighting force, remained at the Chelan County Jail with bail set at $2,500 following a court hearing Monday, jail officials said.
Stillwaugh, 34, hired in 1997 and chief for nearly two years, was arrested by local police June 14 at his home in this town south of Tacoma for investigation of terminating a 911 emergency call during an argument with his wife Tammy.
The next day, after he posted $500 bond and was released, police serving notice that he had been suspended from his job said they found him at a motel, searched himand the room with his permission and found heroin and syringes.
On June 16 he pleaded innocent to illegal possession of a controlled substance and use of drug paraphernalia and was allowed to remain at large without bail.
No charges were filed over the 911 call because Stillwaugh was not accused of domestic violence, Pierce County deputy prosecutor Al Rose said at the time.
The night before the 911 call, Stillwaugh checked himself into a hospital for help getting off prescription painkillers he had been taking for back pain, said Bill McDonald, the town's interim administrator.
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The Associated Press
7/8/03 7:12 AM
DUPONT, Wash. (AP) -- Fire Chief Rick Stillwaugh has been fired following his third arrest in 24 days, this time for investigation of driving a stolen vehicle, officials say.
"It's the third arrest," Mayor Penny Drost said Monday. "Sometimes you have to fish or cut bait."
On Sunday night a Washington State Patrol trooper stopped Stillwaugh on U.S. 97 near Blewett Pass in the Cascade Range, and found the 1994 Ford Taurus he was driving had been reported stolen earlier in the day in Wenatchee, about 15 miles to the east.
Stillwaugh, who was paid $62,800 a year as head of the 14-member firefighting force, remained at the Chelan County Jail with bail set at $2,500 following a court hearing Monday, jail officials said.
Stillwaugh, 34, hired in 1997 and chief for nearly two years, was arrested by local police June 14 at his home in this town south of Tacoma for investigation of terminating a 911 emergency call during an argument with his wife Tammy.
The next day, after he posted $500 bond and was released, police serving notice that he had been suspended from his job said they found him at a motel, searched himand the room with his permission and found heroin and syringes.
On June 16 he pleaded innocent to illegal possession of a controlled substance and use of drug paraphernalia and was allowed to remain at large without bail.
No charges were filed over the 911 call because Stillwaugh was not accused of domestic violence, Pierce County deputy prosecutor Al Rose said at the time.
The night before the 911 call, Stillwaugh checked himself into a hospital for help getting off prescription painkillers he had been taking for back pain, said Bill McDonald, the town's interim administrator.
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