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Law enforcement apprehends man wanted on 32 felony charges

By Kimberly Cauvel, Skagit Valley Herald
Published: November 22, 2021, 7:34am

A Mount Vernon man facing 32 felony charges in Skagit County Superior Court was booked Tuesday into the Skagit County Community Justice Center.

Gregory Dougliss had four warrants out for his arrest when he was taken into custody in Burlington. He is being held on $225,000 bail.

“We were aware of the locations that he frequents and through surveillance were able to locate him,” Skagit County Sheriff’s Office Chief Criminal Deputy Tobin Meyer said.

Dougliss has been in and out of jail since at least mid-2019, when he was charged with felonies ranging from drug possession to mail theft.

This year, a fourth group of charges was filed July 29. Those include counterfeit drug trafficking.

Between May and July, undercover detectives twice purchased pills from Dougliss that were determined to be counterfeit oxycodone, according to police reports.

Later in July, law enforcement attempted to arrest Dougliss after witnessing him making what appeared to be drug sales while driving with a suspended driver’s license and expired registration.

When asked to get out of his vehicle, Dougliss reportedly drove off at a high rate of speed and forced at least one vehicle off a roadway west of Mount Vernon.

Again in September, Dougliss refused to surrender to law enforcement during an arrest attempt at the southbound Interstate 5 Alger rest area.

To escape, he reportedly drove a vehicle over a curb and grass and onto the interstate, driving at more than 90 mph, according to a police report.

“It should be noted … there were several other vehicles within the parking lot and several innocent bystanders close within the vicinity,” the report states.

While law enforcement worked for several months to apprehend Dougliss, the Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office requested an increase in bail because of Dougliss’ repeat offenses, the danger he posed to others while eluding police and his failure to appear for court hearings over a span of more than two years.

On Wednesday, Judge Laura Riquelme approved a request from the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and Sheriff’s Office that Dougliss be restrained during court hearings given the number of felony charges filed against him and his record of endangering the public.

Dougliss is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 2 on the seven newest charges filed against him. Also at that hearing, his three earlier cases, for which he was arraigned in August 2019, will be reviewed.

The case that consists of the most charges — a total of 18 for mail theft, identify theft, fraud and possession of stolen property — Dougliss reportedly was seen stealing mail from homes in a Big Lake neighborhood.

When he was later pulled over in Mount Vernon, a large quantity of mail was visible in the back seat of the vehicle, and law enforcement was able to obtain a warrant to search the vehicle.

Ninety-one pieces of mail from 10 addresses, several checks, many bank and credit cards, multiple vehicle registrations, a driver’s license and a wallet — none of which belonged to Dougliss — were among the items found inside the vehicle, according to a police report.

A spoon in the vehicle also tested positive for heroin, and a pipe in the vehicle tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the report.

The other cases against Dougliss involve mail theft and drug possession.

In one, Dougliss reportedly stole checks from mailboxes and altered them as payable to him. Surveillance video, as well as Dougliss’ signatures and driver’s license number, show he cashed checks from at least two victims, according to the police report.

He was charged with theft, fraud and forgery in that case.

In the other outstanding case, Douglas reportedly abandoned a wrecked vehicle against a guardrail on I-5. Using a search warrant, law enforcement found at least 3 grams of heroin, as well as materials known to be used in drug trafficking and drug use: a scale covered in a powdery residue, baggies and syringes.

In that case, Dougliss was charged with drug possession with intent to manufacture or deliver.

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