News Briefs | March 19 edition
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Vashon drug case update
Gabriel Timmen, 46, the Vashon man accused of selling methamphetamine and fentanyl to island residents, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment hearing on March 12, according to Douglas Wagoner of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
At the hearing, prosecutors argued the case should proceed through traditional prosecution rather than King County Drug Court. The court agreed, ruling the case will move forward through the traditional court process.
Timmen faces two felony counts filed Feb. 4 — delivery and possession with intent to deliver — tied to two controlled buys conducted Jan. 22 at an accessory dwelling unit on Southwest Gorsuch Road, according to court records cited in earlier reporting. The next court date is a routine pretrial hearing at 1 p.m. April 1.
Detention-facility moratorium
According to a newsletter from King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, the King County Council approved an emergency one-year moratorium that immediately blocks the county from accepting permit applications for new or expanded detention facilities in unincorporated King County, including potential ICE detention centers.
What the ordinance does: Mosqueda said the ordinance prohibits applications for detention facilities proposed as permanent or temporary uses, and is intended to prevent projects from moving forward through vague or misleading descriptions while closing regulatory gaps that could allow private detention facilities to proceed before updated rules are adopted.
