Page 17 - Flathead Beacon // 10.26.16

Valley’s Drug ‘Subculture’
Law enforcement has con scated far more methamphetamine in 2016 than in previous years
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Defense attorney Steven Scott shows co-defendant Christopher Hansen a knife that was allegedly used in the murder of Wade Rautio during Robert Wittal’s trial in Flathead County District Court. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
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BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
Flophouses. Enforcers. Junkies.
Prosecutors used those terms last week during Robert Matthew Wittal’s murder trial to paint an intimate picture of methamphetamine’s pervasive impact on the Flathead Valley.
“You’re going to hear from people who live a di erent lifestyle than most of you,” said Deputy County Attorney John Don- ovan in his opening statements of the trial. “A lifestyle of drug use and violence. A lifestyle that you may not even realize exists in your community.”
While law enforcement o cials have been saying for months that metham- phetamine has become a major concern in the valley, the four-day trial o ered the public a glimpse into the issue. Flathead County Sheri Chuck Curry said it was an accurate depiction of what his o cers are seeing on the streets on a regular basis.
“That subculture exists here and it’s often out of sight of most people,” Curry
said.
“(Methamphetamine) is a valley-wide
problem, not just one house in Ever- green,” he added, referring to the home at the center of the Wittal trial.
During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence and testimony that showed how Wittal and his three co-defendants — David Toman, Melisa Crone and Chris Hansen — were deeply involved in the valley’s drug culture. Crone’s house on South Cedar Drive in Evergreen was called a “ ophouse” where people would frequently come to use and buy drugs. The victim in the case, Wade Allen Rautio, was stabbed to death after he had allegedly sto- len drugs and money from the defendants.
“There are other groups like this out there,” Curry said.
Curry said violent crime related to the drug trade is still rare in the valley, but it is a concern. Property crime, however, is on the rise, and Curry said most bur- glaries and robberies are related to drugs.
The amount of drugs in the valley
has also skyrocketed in the last decade, exceeding even the levels found during the methamphetamine epidemic of the early 2000s that spurred the well-known Montana Meth Project prevention pro- gram. In 2014, the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force, a law enforcement coa- lition that covers Flathead, Lincoln, Min- eral, Sanders and Glacier counties, con- scated nine pounds of methamphet- amine from the street. In 2015, it pur- chased or con scated 15 pounds of meth worth $5 million. So far this year, the task force has taken in 27 pounds of the drug.
Mark Mulcahy, commander of the drug task force, said his deputies have been especially busy this year, and he doesn’t see the work slowing down any- time soon. He worries that an increase of drugs in the valley could lead to an increase in violent crime.
“This is still a really nice place to live,” he said. “And we want to keep it that
“YOU’RE GOING TO HEAR FROM PEOPLE WHO LIVE A DIFFERENT LIFESTYLE THAN MOST OF YOU A LIFESTYLE OF DRUG USE AND VIOLENCE. A LIFESTYLE THAT YOU MAY NOT EVEN REALIZE EXISTS IN YOUR COMMUNITY.”
- JOHN DONOVAN, DEPUTY COUNTY ATTORNEY
way.”
jfranz@ atheadbeacon.com
OCTOBER 26, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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