CENTRALIA — A local company is no longer providing services to the City of Centralia, after an owner of the company was charged with sending cannabis oil through UPS.
According to a Centralia Police Chief Brian Atchison, Low Cash Towing is no longer being placed on the city’s tow list as the result of an investigation into its owner Nick Lyons.
A police report from that investigation indicates that CPD was contacted February 27, by a supervisor at UPS regarding two suspicious packages Lyons left with them the previous day for shipping, one destined for Alabama and another destined for California.
Detectives obtained a search warrant for the packages, which the UPS supervisor turned over with additional invoices showing Lyons had sent four other packages to the California address.
The packages were taken back to the police department and when opened the package addressed to California was found to contain $3,000 cash, while the package addressed to Georgia contained 28 commercial packages of cannabis oil.
The oil reportedly had a very strong odor of cannabis and field tested positive for THC. Both the cash and cannabis oil were vacuum sealed and wrapped in masking tape.
When Lyons went in to CPD for questioning, Detective Ryan Castleman from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office was brought in to conduct the interview due to conflicts of interest based upon personal and professional relationships the detectives and the city have with Lyons, his business, and his wife.
Lyons was first read his rights and when Castleman asked if he was aware why he was asked to come in, he reportedly said “yes.”
Lyons reportedly told the detective that the cannabis oil was being sent to a friend he used to race cars with and that he had purchased the oil from an unknown subject at the junk yard for $200.
He reportedly told Castleman that was the only time he has sent illegal substances through the mail. He also said the package going to California — $3,000 cash wrapped in a shirt – was for the purchase of sports jerseys and that on other occasions he had sent money to the same person for the same purpose.
Marion County State’s Attorney Bill Milner was contacted and decided to charge Lyons with delivery of cannabis, and possession of cannabis. Lyons was released with a notice to appear. Formal charges have not been filed.