MARION COUNTY — Bail was set at $25,000 Wednesday in Marion County Court for a 21-year-old Centralia woman arrested Tuesday in a buy/bust operation by the Centralia Police Department.

According to Centralia Police Chief Greg Dodson, Brinisha Hall was arrested for Possession and Delivery of a Controlled Substance within 500 feet of a church and Resisting Arrest.

Dodson says in a continued effort to combat drug trafficking, on Tuesday, the Centralia Police Department conducted an enforcement/interdiction tactic that targets street-level drug trafficking.

Centralia Police Investigations Division set up officers covertly in an area where they had prearranged a drug purchase of what reportedly Fentanyl.

The interdiction team reportedly witnessed the prearranged drug deal take place, in a tactic known as a Buy/Bust. After the transaction was completed Investigators from Centralia and Marion County as well as Patrol officers initiated an arrest of Hall in the act.

After completing the drug transaction and seeing the Police, Hall allegedly attempted to flee on foot with officers in pursuit. A citizen witnessing this exited his vehicle and stopped Hall, allowing officers to immediately take her into custody.

Twelve capsules containing the very dangerous substance suspected to be Fentanyl were reportedly recovered at the scene.

Hall was processed and transported to the Marion County Jail. She appeared in court Wednesday where she was formally charged with Class 2 felony possession of fentanyl and misdemeanor resisting a peace officer.

She’s next scheduled to appear in court on March 17 for a preliminary hearing and first appearance with her court-appointed attorney.

Dodson says the blatant open public sales of illicit drugs in our community cannot be tolerated as they diminish the sense of safety and security felt by the citizens of our community.

Reducing and or eliminating these types of open public sales is a priority for the Centralia Police Department to ensure the citizens of our community feel safe in our public spaces.

This type of deliberate drug trafficking in the very deadly and dangerous drug known as Fentanyl in our community is of the utmost concern to Law Enforcement due to the high amounts of related overdoses and overdose deaths that it causes.