Sen. Roach's son accused of selling OxyContin to police

The son of longtime state Sen. Pam Roach, R-Sumner, has been charged with selling the highly addictive pain reliever OxyContin to an undercover police informant, according to court records.

Stephen Andrew Roach, 24, was charged Friday in Pierce County Superior Court with three counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. He is to be arraigned Feb. 24.

According to charging documents, Stephen Roach sold OxyContin pills to an informant on three occasions last fall, including once at a Sumner home owned by Pam Roach and her husband. Police officers observed or videotaped each of the sales. On one video, Stephen Roach is seen snorting a crushed pill, court records state.

Deputy Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said the senator was not home at the time of the transaction. "There's no evidence to suggest she even knew what was going on," he said.

Calls to Pam Roach's Olympia office were not returned yesterday.

OxyContin, a synthetic drug similar to morphine, is prescribed for moderate-to-severe pain. Street users typically crush the pill and snort the powder or mix it with water to inject it, vastly increasing the risk of rapid absorption of toxic levels of the drug. In recent years, the abuse of the narcotic pain reliever has been widespread and has been linked to scores of fatal overdoses, according to media reports.

Stephen Roach was arrested Sept. 17 with his girlfriend, Kimberly Repp, and another man, Jason Primeau, who both face drug-related charges.

Police found more than $3,000 in Stephen Roach's car and safe, along with marijuana and three guns, including a loaded shotgun behind the headboard of his bed, according to documents.

Stephen Roach is one of Pam Roach's five children, who include state Rep. Dan Roach, R-Bonney Lake.

Pam Roach was elected to the Legislature in 1990 and has become known as one of the more brash, colorful figures in Olympia. She is a staunch supporter of gun rights and frequently sponsors tough-on-crime legislation, yet she's often been at odds with her own party on labor, budget and other issues.

She now is sponsoring a bill to increase penalties for the manufacture of methamphetamine.

Ray Rivera: 206-464-2926 or rayrivera@seattletimes.com