It was a Saturday morning, at 10:24 am on August 8, when a pair of Mendocino County Sheriff’s deputies were patrolling the area around the Sherwood Valley Casino in south Willits, and they happened to spot two people, apparently hiding in the bushes outside the casino building.
Dungan’s booking photo from her assault arrest.
According to the Sheriff’s office, when the deputies approached to check out the situation, the woman in the bushes rushed to hide a marijuana joint. The deputies asked the pair, a man and woman in their early thirties, to step out, and asked if they could search them. Probably thinking they’d be hauled off anyway, they consented to the search. Or perhaps thinking that by ditching anything they had, they’d be sent on their way. But it didn’t work out that way.
While they didn’t find anything on their persons, there was a small baggie of methamphetamine next to where the man was sitting. But a search of his bag revealed much more. There was another baggie of meth, and a glass meth pipe with dark residue on it. He was also carrying a homemade “shuriken” throwing star, and a foot-long metal rod with a sharpened end that could be used as a lethal weapon.
The deputies asked for ID and identified Raymond Lee Tyler, 30-years-old of Willits, but the woman gave them a name that, when checked, turned out to be false. They did identify her car, however, and a search revealed a plastic container with a “usable quantity” of meth inside. She was arrested, still without having provided a valid name, for possession of a controlled substance. Raymond Tyler was charged with possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia, an illegal throwing star, and illegal dirk or dagger.
The pair were brought to the Mendocino County Jail for booking, and Pauline Dungan of Covelo was finally identified. Her reluctance to give her name was likely due to an outstanding warrant for assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer, from back in February.
What led to Dungan’s assault on the officer isn’t clear, but she was apparently dealing with some personal issues. On May 30 of this year, she created a “gofundme” page to raise money to “help me leave my ex “. In it, she states “My ex stole my truck and everything i own in it……. So i could not move…… And am forced to count my underwear….. I really need a little help to get out of this situation…… To ensure my success. Please help…..!!!!!!” No one, however, contributed through the page, and her goal of raising $2500 was met with just one comment earlier this month – “You have a warrant. Turn yourself in then you would be away from him.”
Raymond Tyler’ history, going back several years, includes an arrest in 2005 for battery. That was followed in 2007 for a DUI charge, and in 2008 with an arrest for petty theft.
Bail for Raymond Tyler was set at $30,000, and his next court appearance is scheduled for September 10. Pauline Dungan’s bail, due to the assault warrant and the addition of giving false information to an officer, was set at $85,000. She is due in court on August 28.
