A 37-year-old man was arrested Friday at a Vancouver hotel where police found 300 fentanyl pills, half a pound of methamphetamine, $1,100 in cash and three handguns, one of which was stolen, inside a room he was staying in.
Frank L. Hamlin, no address listed, appeared Monday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and possession of a stolen firearm. His bail was set at $10,000, and he’s scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 5.
Vancouver police responded at 4:52 p.m. to the Best Western Plus at 9420 N.E. Vancouver Mall Drive. Hotel staff told officers the occupant of the room was Hamlin, a probable cause affidavit states.
Police found Hamlin had several warrants for his arrest for failing to appear in court in Clackamas and Washington counties in Oregon, court records state.
Hotel staff received several complaints from other guests who said it smelled like something was burning in Hamlin’s room, according to the affidavit. Staff told officers they saw Hamlin enter the room on surveillance video, and he hadn’t come out.
Staff called the room and asked the occupants to come to the front desk because their reservation was canceled. When Hamlin came down, police arrested him, court records state.
When officers went into the room, they found several large bags of blue pills they believed to be fentanyl, the affidavit states.
Hamlin reportedly asked officers to get him clothes before taking him to jail, and one officer looked inside a duffle bag in the room. The officer found three firearms inside the bag, along with Hamlin’s identification and several credit cards, according to court records. One of the firearms was reported stolen out of Portland.
Officers also found a small digital scale, plastic bags, a large amount of blue pills and a large amount of a substance that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, the affidavit says.
