Routine traffic stops in the city Thursday morning and in the county Wednesday night resulted in the felony arrests of a Bismarck man and a Royal man after large quantities of meth were allegedly found.
The first incident occurred shortly after 9 p.m. Wednesday as Garland County sheriff's Deputy Charles DeLaHunt was patrolling when he spotted a tan Chevrolet SUV turning off Oak Grove Road onto Albert Pike and noted the vehicle had no tag lights so he followed it.
He caught up to it and ran the Texas license plate which returned to a white Ford so he stopped it in the 100 block of Willow Oak Drive and approached the driver, identified as Casey Lee Bowser, 34, who lists a Brady Mountain Road address in Royal. Bowser was also shown to be on parole and had an absconder warrant for his arrest.
Deputy Justin Parker arrived to assist and as Bowser opened his door to exit the vehicle, Parker states he saw a blue bag "fly out the passenger window." The bag was found in the grass beside the vehicle and allegedly contained "a large amount of a white crystal-like substance," which later tested positive for meth, 14.9 grams.
The bag also reportedly contained a small amount of marijuana, 3.7 grams, a digital scale with residue, two syringes, including one loaded with 30 units of a clear liquid, and a spoon with meth residue. Agents with the 18th Judicial East Drug Task Force were notified who later responded, seized the vehicle and assumed the investigation.
Bowser was charged with felony counts of possession of meth with purpose to deliver, punishable by up to 30 years in prison, three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, punishable by six to 20 years in prison, and a misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana with purpose to deliver, punishable by up to one year in jail.
Bowser was also cited for having fictitious tags, no liability insurance, driving on a suspended driver's license, having defective vehicle lights and no seatbelt. He remained in custody Thursday in lieu of bonds totaling $21,000 and is set to appear today in Garland County District Court. He also has a parole hold on him.
The second incident occurred shortly before 12:30 a.m. Thursday as Hot Springs police Officer 1st Class Shawn Stone spotted a white GMC Jimmy eastbound in the 2200 block of Albert Pike and noted the vehicle did not have a right side mirror so he stopped it just past Black Street.
He spoke to the driver, identified as Jerry Wayne Pierce, 64, of Bismarck, who searched in his fanny pack but could not locate his driver's license or the registration for the vehicle, which he stated he was borrowing.
As Stone was checking the vehicle identification number, he reportedly noticed marijuana on top of a magazine on the front dash so he took Pierce into custody. A search of the fanny pack allegedly uncovered three baggies of what later tested positive for meth, 24.3 grams, a baggie of marijuana, 1.4 grams, four glass pipes, a custom made glass and metal pipe, a grinder and 16 baggies with bird logos on the outside.
Pierce was charged with felony counts of possession of a controlled substance, meth, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and possession of drug paraphernalia, punishable by up to six years, and a misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, punishable by up to one year in jail.
He remained in custody Thursday in lieu of $8,500 bond and is set to appear today in district court.
Local on 10/18/2019