BY STEVE POWELL
spowell@marysvilleglobe.com
MARYSVILLE – Scott Lindell died a horrible death Jan. 12, 2015, aspirating on his own vomit after a suspected drug overdose in Jodi Buck’s barn.
Fifteen days later, a man known only as “Dre” died in the Buck house, also of a suspected overdose. The medical examiner noted a syringe, drug paraphernalia and numerous needle tracks on his arms.
Marysville police would have liked to shut down the drug house long ago, but couldn’t. That is until the City Council passed a law in December allowing the city to board up houses without electricity or water because of public health concerns.
The Jodi and Chris Buck Sr. house at 5301 122nd Place NE, just a few blocks north of Marysville-Pilchuck High School, was boarded up March 29.
Police reports say former homeowner Linda Lomnick died of a heart attack in February 2012 and left the house to her daughter, Jodi. Since then the house has been a haven for drug addicts and the homeless. The house does not have running water or septic/sewer. Officers observed the toilet had been removed with an open floor remaining in the bathroom.
Deryck McLeod, the city’s code enforcement officer, tried to close the house using the city’s Chronic Public Nuisance law.
He noted in a report that the Bucks’ 12-year-old daughter was taken away by Children’s Protective Services because of the health issues and also drug activity.
He advised Jodi and Chris Buck Sr. in a letter that they needed to clean up the trash that was 10-feet high in their back yard because neighbors were blaming them for a rat infestation.
McLeod expressed concern in his report that neighbors are fed up and if not declared a chronic nuisance they may take things into their own hands and create a hostile environment.
McLeod said neighbors have put up with a lot. The city had to block a trail near there because drug users would park in a cul de sac a block away and walk to the Buck house in an effort to be more discreet. He said the city hopes to reopen the trail now that the house is boarded up. Neighbors were also subjected to car prowls, and trash and needles thrown along the street. Water has been stolen, and electricity diverted.
“The conditions were deplorable,” McLeod said. “I kept telling them (neighbors) to hang in there. With the new law we’re starting to see some progress.”
He added that it was like a revolving door at the Buck house with so many people in and out of jail.
“It’s a never-ending cycle, and neighbors are always upset,” McLeod said.
McLeod also said the Bucks no longer even live there, but son Chris Buck Jr. did, and he was consorting with known felons and drug users.
In September last fall, Jodi Buck said she would cooperate with the city and clean up the place with the desire to avoid fines and penalties. But nothing was done.
In less than two years, Marysville police have responded to the residence about two dozen times, including:
•Aug. 15, 2014: Buck Sr. and Jodi Buck were arrested on a narcotics-related warrant. Their daughter was taken by CPS and later placed into foster care.
•Jan. 12, 2015: Jodi Buck found Lindell dead in her barn. She allowed him to live there after he was kicked out of his previous residence.
•Jan. 27, 2015: Buck Sr. found “Dre” dead. He had only been there three days and had slept on the couch. Buck said Dre had been complaining of not feeling well for days.
•May 27, 2015: An officer observed two people passed out on a couch. A hypodermic needle loaded with suspected heroin was near them. Police also found approximately $20,000 in stolen building materials, stemming from numerous burglaries in Snohomish County.
•June 17, 2015: A man was arrested after leaving the Buck house. He had a felony warrant for trafficking in stolen property.
•July 3, 2015: A man was arrested after a short foot pursuit. The police report says he is a known enforcer within Rainbow Love’s extensive narcotics operation.
•July 21, 2015: NITE officers conducted a controlled narcotics buy from Buck Sr. and Jodi Buck at their place of employment. Jodi was arrested for possession of heroin.
•Aug. 4, 2015: NITE team heard a stolen motorcycle might be at the premises, so they talked with six people there, four of whom were convicted felons. Police learned one of them was there to collect a debt and was making threats, using a weapon to scare people. He was later arrested after a short foot pursuit.
•Aug. 14, 2015: An officer found a man unconscious in a car in the Bucks’ driveway. There were warrants for his arrest so he took off, almost hitting one officer. A pursuit later was called off because of safety concerns at State Avenue and 100th Street NE. The NITE team found out who it was through a confidential informant.
