Thursday, July 28, 1988

Two arrested in connection with abandoned pot cache

The case of the “abandoned marijuana mystery” may have been solved last week.

Powder River County law enforcement officers last Wednesday issued warrants calling for the arrest of two Great Falls men on felony charges of criminal possession of dangerous drugs, with the intent to sell.

Jody Scott Mitchell, alias Jody Scott Ameline, 23, and his half-brother, Ron Ameline, 30, both of Great Falls, are believed responsible for abandoning nearly 800 pounds of marijuana near the Belle Creek to Boyes Road in Eastern Powder River County.

Mitchell was arrested in Kalispell around 6:30 p.m., near a construction site where he was working. Arresting officers were multi-jurisdictional and included Powder River County Sheriff Don Pertuit, two Montana State Criminal Investigation Bureau officers and three Flathead County Deputies. Pertuit said that Mitchell surrendered peacefully, offering no resistance.

Ameline was expected to be apprehended late Tuesday, after he returned from a fishing trip.

The warrants were issued following an intense multi-jurisdictional investigation conducted jointly by local law enforcement officers, Great Falls authorities, members of the Eastern Counties Coal Crime Task Force and Montana Drug Enforcement Administration Agents.

The street value placed the monetary worth of the marijuana conservatively between $800,000 and $900,000, but a more precise value would be over $1 million, according to Pertuit.

The cache, one of the largest quantities of marijuana found in the history of Montana, was recovered after Pertuit responded to an anonymous telephone caller who had reported that a number of “suspicious looking” boxes were along the side of the Boyes to Belle Creek Road.

The marijuana was inside randomly piled boxes with U-Haul Company emblems on them. The boxes numbered over 25 and varied in size from ten inches by ten inches to nearly four feet high by several feet across. The marijuana inside was either wrapped in cellophane of in garbage bags.

The case was broken, Pertuit said, after officers began checking into U-Haul Company rentals.

“We knew a U-Haul had been used because of the boxes with the company name,” Peruit said. “We began researching, looking for a small U-Haul truck that would have been the appropriate size to haul the marijuana.”

One such truck was located in Billings and investigation revealed marijuana residue in the back. Mitchell had apparently used his driver’s license to sign for the rental. Pertuit said, also that a vehicle matching the description of one owned by Ameline was one owned by Ameline was spotted in the area near where the pot was cached several days later, tying both men directly to the scene.

Powder River County Attorney Daniel Schwarz, who will be prosecuting the case with assistance from the Montana Attorney General’s Office, said there was also other evidence tying the two men to the marijuana.

Mitchell made his initial appearance in Kalispell, where local Justice of the Peace Peggy Deibel-Jones, by phone, set the bond at $100,000. He is expected to be arraigned on the charge later this week.

Pertuit said he anticipated that the two men will be incarcerated in Billings, due to the manpower shortage here cause by budget woes. Because of an inter-departmental agreement with the Coal Counties Task Force, there will be no cost to Powder River County for keeping the prisoners. The marijuana is also being stored in Billings at an undisclosed site and will be kept as evidence.

“We are still waiting to question the two as to when and where the marijuana was originally picked up and why it was dropped off here,” said Pertuit. “We know the two brothers are from Great Falls but we still don’t know where they were headed at the time.”

Pertuit added that the investigation may also lead to further arrests.

Cowbelles mark 20th anniversary

Members of Powder River CowBelles marked 20 years of service to their industry with a banquet at the Red Velvet Room of Jean’s Montana on Saturday evening.

They were joined by their husbands, who support them in their work and also, apparently, in the idea of the commemorative scrumptious meal. Everyone ate like “ranch hands” indeed, with the dinner topped off in a beautifully decorated 20th anniversary cake, courtesy of club member Julie Samuelson.

Honored guests of the evening were Olive and John Mellor who have unfailingly contributed to beef promotion through the years. Out-of-town guests included Henry and Helene LaCasse of Missoula as guest of Betty Smith, and Pat Hanlan of Ekalaka.

Jean Portwine, first vice-president of the CowBelles in 1968, presented corsages to charter members Betty Smith and Virginia Robinson, and a serving plate to Emerine Hanlan who helped in establishing the club 20 years ago, and served as its first president. Mrs. Robinson has served as secretary-treasurer through nine of the club’s 20 years, as well as substituting in that position for absent officers, and serving two terms as vice president.

In brief after-dinner ceremonies, President Lorraine Fortner recognized past officers and asked for a moment of silent tribute to deceased members, Barbara Sampson, Marie Traub and Lucille Frandsen. Mrs. Smith related amusing anecdotes from 20 years of club work and gave a reading appropriate to the husband-wife partnership of cattle ranching and promotion of its product.

Several drawings were held during the evening with winners receiving five-dollar beef certificates or packages of CowBelle napkins.