Man charged with felonies in St. Regis-area meth case

Sheriff: Community "sick of seeing this garbage"

The Mineral County Sheriff's Office recently arrested a man for allegedly running a clandestine laboratory for manufacturing methamphetamine near St. Regis.

Richard Halseth, 56, was charged with the felonies of operation of an unlawful clandestine laboratory, criminal possession of precursors to dangerous drugs and criminal distribution of dangerous drugs and is currently being held at the Mineral County Jail with the bail amount set at $10,000. Halseth's initial appearance in District Court is scheduled for Jan. 14.

According to court records, on Dec. 10, Mineral County Sheriff's Office Undersheriff Mike Johnson, Sergeant Bill Pandis and Deputy Jon Polich went to Halseth's residence in the vicinity of 7 Mile Road near St. Regis with a search warrant issued by the Mineral County Justice Court.

During the search, the officers allegedly found two marijuana plants, one wooden pipe, a plastic scale, two large plastic baggies containing an unknown substance, which appeared to be either dangerous drugs or a precursor to dangerous drugs, one bottle of small white pills and a bag of small red pills.

The officers also allege that they found a number of items known to be used in the production of methamphetamine. These alleged items included Coleman fuel, a propane torch, red powder resembling red phosphorus inside a plastic bag, plastic tubing, a funnel, a bag of rock salt, a bag of pseudo ephedrine pills, pH test kits, two cans of red lye drain cleaner and a glass bottle containing a clear liquid in the bottom and a white powdery substance at the top.

After observing and photographing the items, Pandis contacted the Northwest Drug Task Force and requested their assistance in taking down the laboratory and their opinion as to whether or not the items discovered were consistent with methamphetamine production.

On Dec. 11, Pandis obtained a second search warrant and returned to the Halseth premises with Division of Criminal Investigation agents familiar with methamphetamine labs. Allegedly, after inspecting the chemicals, glassware and other items at the Halseth residence, the DCI agents confirmed that the laboratory was being used to manufacture methamphetamine and that certain steps aimed at synthesizing the drug had already been taken.

Mineral County Sheriff Hugh Hopwood said that the diligent work of Pandis and Polich made closing down the lab possible. "They deserve a pat on the back," he said. Hopwood said they had developed a working relationship with the citizens, who are fed up with seeing meth in their community. "They're sick of seeing this garbage," he said.

Hopwood said the Sheriff's office still finds the occasional rudimentary meth lab, but not as large-scale and as many as they had in the past. Hopwood credits this with the laws that make buying the precursors for methamphetamine illegal, community awareness and his officers' training. "We're pretty good at knowing where to look," he said.