Thurston County Drug Court celebrates newest graduates

Since their latest arrests, the most recent Thurston County Drug Court graduates have undergone transformations.

The six booking photographs displayed at Friday’s graduation ceremony showed them at their worst — emaciated, unhappy and charged with felonies.

By comparison, the people standing in court looked clean and healthy.

Christopher Madore said he weighed 145 pounds when he was last arrested, but because of his drug use, he didn’t realize how sick and malnourished he was. He described himself as a “homeless, hopeless drug-dependent low-life.”

But with the help of the drug court program, Madore celebrated 601 days clean and sober Friday.

Madore and his counterparts became the 599th through 605th people to graduate from the county’s drug court since its inception in 1998. The court operates along with the county’s DUI court. Participants enter the program at the recommendation of the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office after drug or DUI-related arrests.

They’re required to appear in court weekly, biweekly or monthly depending on where they are in the program. Participants are required to take drug tests throughout the process to ensure they are not using.

If participants graduate from the program, their pending criminal charges are dropped.

Thurston County Superior Court Judge James Dixon, who presides over the court, said the program is a way for addicts to get treatment instead of serving time in jail.

“It’s a greatly successful program,” Dixon said. “It allows people to to get involved in the world of recovery and become a part of the community again.”

About 52 percent of the people who have entered drug court since 1998 have graduated. However, program manager Sabrina Craig said that’s not the only way to measure success.

Only about 13 percent of people who exited the program in 2013 and 2014 — whether they graduated or were terminated from the program — have had new criminal charges filed against them.

About 6 percent of people who graduated during that time frame have faced new criminal charges. About 21 percent of those who were terminated from the program have faced new criminal charges.

“Not everyone who is terminated from the program is unsuccessful,” Craig said. “They may have learned what they needed to learn.”

She and Dixon said graduating from drug court is a big deal. It takes months of hard work in counseling, and participants are required to be employed throughout the program. Those who enter drug court without a high school diploma or equivalent are required to go to school.

“A lot of the people who come in are broken,” Craig said. “Many are unemployed, homeless or have incomplete educations. The goal here is to help people become contributing members of the community.”

Jason Reilly, who celebrated 518 days clean and sober Friday, said that being a contributing member of the community is one of his main goals after graduation. He also plans to be a good father.

He said that when he was arrested most recently, he had been on the run for about a year and had outstanding warrants from jurisdictions around the state.

Reilly told the court that he became addicted to controlled substances in his early teens while he was living in foster care. His daughter was born when he was 15, and by the time he was 18, he was “hopelessly addicted.”

Now, he works full time and sees his daughter weekly.

“I truly believe that Thurston County Drug Court cares about its participants,” Reilly said. “That’s why I stuck it out.”

Kathern Paulsaid her sobriety has taught her the value of spending time with her son. She said she began selling drugs at age 14 to support her addiction. She was eventually arrested for selling drugs in a school zone.

“I felt like I hit a rock bottom that I didn’t deserve,” Paul said.

She entered drug court following her arrest and celebrated 268 days sober Friday.

Mariah Murphy said her battle with addiction began when she was a new mother and had a wisdom tooth pulled. She said she went through her Vicodin prescription in two days.

“I was a stay-at-home mom with a secret pill problem,” Murphy said.

She eventually got a job, but lost it after stealing money to buy drugs.

After trying to control her addiction with methadone, she had another child. She began using methamphetamine to lose weight, and had a third child.

Murphy said she eventually lost custody of her children.

“I had never been a mom without being on drugs,” Murphy said.

Now, at 416 days clean and sober, Murphy is working to regain custody of her children. She hopes to go back to school to become a drug counselor.

Before becoming addicted to drugs, Anthony Wilsie was an athlete. He first began taking pills and smoking marijuana when he hurt his knee playing football in high school.

Wilsie was able to go to college and play baseball, but dropped out his sophomore year after another injury. He said he became addicted to pills.

“Unfortunately, I took advantage of my family’s love and support through lies and manipulation,” Wilsie said.

He eventually turned to heroin, a cheaper alternative.

Wilsie was arrested in 2014 for stealing his mother’s car, and he expected to be sent to prison. Instead, he entered drug court.

On Friday, he was 479 days sober. He has a full-time job, and said that he’ll become a father any day.

“I’m a huge believer in drug court and everything they do,” Wilsie said.

Brian Franks was 433 days sober Friday. He said that his addiction began when he was 12. His family had recently moved from California to Washington, and his dad became addicted to meth.

His father was eventually arrested, and Franks began drinking and using marijuana. He eventually began experimenting with pills.

“No matter what I did, I didn’t care about the consequences,” Franks said.

When Franks was 17, his father died and his addiction escalated. By the time he was 21, he did heroin every day.

In 2013, he was arrested after selling marijuana to an undercover police officer. He was given the chance to go through the drug court program.

“Since I’ve gotten clean, I’ve found out what I need in my life,” Franks said. “And that’s my family and the friends I’ve made along the way.”

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 6:20 PM with the headline "Thurston County Drug Court celebrates newest graduates."