Teen’s death stirs up Palouse drug debate

Details surrounding the death of Dylan Mahan-Treese of Palouse have triggered questions about drug activity in Palouse and a scheduled visit from the county prosecutor to the next council meeting.

A Palouse home believed by the Palouse Police Department to be the site of drug activity has been linked to Mahan-Treese.

Mahan-Treese was found dead Oct. 23 under a bridge in Palouse, an alleged 13 days after his death.

A coroner’s finding on the cause of Mahan-Treese’s death is still pending, but authorities believe his death was most likely a suicide or accidental overdose.

At an emotional Palouse city council meeting Oct. 26, three days after Mahan-Treese was found, a concerned resident asked the council why suspected drug activity at this specific home in Palouse hadn’t been shut down.

Palouse Chief Jerry Neumann said at the meeting his department had made three arrests at that home within the past month.

Neumann confirmed Mahan-Treese was in a relationship with a 21-year-old woman living at the said house. The 16-year-old had made three or four suicide attempts within the past year and had ongoing issues with drug and alcohol addiction, he said.

The family of Mahan-Treese had a restraining order against the woman, Neumann said, due to her own involvement with drugs.

The police department has questioned the woman on the death of Mahan-Treese. She has not been charged.

At the same council meeting, the police department fielded several questions from around the room on its handling of Mahan-Treese’s runaway situation.

The teenager was reported missing Oct. 11 by his family, who believed he had run away.

His body was found Oct. 23 under the end of the Church Street bridge over the former Great Northern railroad approach into Palouse. The county coroner later determined the day of his death to be Oct.11, the same day he was reported missing.

At the Oct. 26 meeting, council members Randy Zehm and Connie Newman had questions for the police department on its handling of the runaway situation.

Newman asked that the city’s Police, Fire and Safety committee review the police department’s work and a two-hour meeting was conducted with the police department.

“Dylan’s death is hard for everyone but I think we need to make darned sure we learned from it,” Newman told the Gazette.

Part of the committee’s goal in talking with the police department was to help clarify the difference between a case of a juvenile runaway and a missing person, Newman said.

In a later interview with the Gazette, chief Neumann said he was frustrated with the county prosecutor’s office for letting those arrested later walk free. It makes it difficult to shut down the drug activity, he said.

“We serve and protect. And we’re serving and now we’re just having problems with the protection part of this,” Neumann said.

The police department can arrest people involved with drugs, but the prosecuting end of a case isn’t handled through their office, he pointed out.

“People want to turn around and point fingers at us and that’s just not the case,” Neumann said.

In a separate interview with the Gazette, Tracy said he heard rumors about the comments made about the prosecutor’s office at the Palouse city council meeting.

Tracy stressed those comments were rumors. He said he has asked to speak at the next city council meeting to “give a report card” on the work of his office.

In light of the situation in Palouse, Tracy is reviewing a slew of recent cases to come out of Palouse.

“That rumor is very concerning to me. Because it’s concerning to me, I’ve begun examining all the cases from Palouse,” Tracy said.

He pointed out no one from the city has personally contacted him with questions on the involvement of the prosecutor office- and he is open to questions.

“I operate the prosecutor’s office based on hard facts,” Tracy said.

According to a case report listing at the prosecutor’s office, the Palouse police department made 19 total referrals (such as arrests or citations) to the prosecutor’s office to date in 2010.

Of those 19 referrals, 15 resulted in a charge from the prosecutor’s office, two were not charged and two were referred to Spokane County. Only two of the total 15 charges made by the prosecutor’s office this year were related to drugs.

A memorial service for Mahan-Treese, who was a sophomore at Garfield/Palouse High School, was Sunday afternoon at Calvary Chapel of Palouse.

He was the son of David and Cindi Curry Mahan. Also surviving are a brother, William, and his maternal grandmother, Julie Curry.

Memorial donations may be made to the Memorial Fund for Dylan Mahan at any branch of America West Bank. Online condolences: http://www.kimballfh.com