Bail set at $150K for man accused of running Thurston County drug ring

A judge set bail at $150,000 Wednesday for Bilal H. Willis, a 31-year-old man suspected of operating a drug-dealing ring in Thurston County.

Willis is charged in Thurston County Superior Court with leading organized crime, money laundering and conspiracy to deliver oxycodone. He pleaded not guilty to the charges before Judge Erik Price.

Deputy Prosecutor Heather Stone said that the leading organized crime charge is a strike offense, and that Willis already was convicted of a strike offense as a juvenile. His criminal history contains 10 prior offenses, mostly occurring between 1996 and 2011.

“It appears to be a fairly violent criminal history,” Stone said.

So far, Willis has one co-defendant in the case. Theron J. Matson, 23, appeared in court Tuesday, and Price found probable cause for two potential charges: unlawful possession of oxycodone with intent to deliver, and driving with license suspended.

Over the past two years, the Thurston County Narcotics Task Force received several tips regarding Willis and his alleged involvement with prescription pill dealing in Thurston County, according to court documents. One anonymous tipster wrote, “Bilal Willis is one of the largest pill dealer(s) in Thurston County.”

That tipster also wrote that Willis had about seven people working for him, according to court documents.

Neighbors on Magnolia Court Southeast in Lacey reported there was a high volume of short-stay traffic at Willis’s home, and they believed drugs were being sold there. Willis then moved to a home on Quinault Drive Northeast in Thurston County, and allegedly began selling drugs from that address, according to court documents.

Other tipsters said Willis purchased the pills in the SeaTac area, according to court documents.

Over the course of those two years, the task force made a series of arrests of people suspected of selling controlled substances. According to court documents, the suspects were all connected to Willis.

According to investigators, Willis operated two businesses: a moving business called Aktiv Deliveries and a merchandising business called The Red Merchant. Financial records showed that Willis deposited about $99,000 in two bank accounts ― but only about $22,000 of that could be traced to Willis’s legitimate businesses.

Based on the investigation, detectives believe Willis laundered the money made selling drugs through his businesses.

Detectives obtained a warrant for Willis’s Facebook account, and allegedly found messages regarding drug deals. According to court documents, Willis made or received more than 29,000 phone calls between May 2, 2015, and Nov. 10, 2015.

Detectives also learned that Willis owned 17 vehicles. Surveillance showed Willis would frequently switch out the vehicle he was using, according to court documents.

Willis’s trial is scheduled to begin the week of May 16.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Bail set at $150K for man accused of running Thurston County drug ring."