Man pleads not guilty to theft, drug charges

A Eureka man on Monday pleaded not guilty to felony theft and drug possession.

Ryan Andrew Byrd, 32, in District Court on Monday pleaded not guilty to theft and criminal possession of dangerous drugs, both felonies. If convicted, he faces a maximum 15 years in state prison and a maximum $100,000 in fines.

Byrd was charged in September after police allegedly found him in possession of a stolen vehicle and drug paraphernalia.

On Sept. 21, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy Dan Holskey reported identifying a black pickup in a Eureka driveway with license plates that indicated the vehicle had been stolen from Flathead County. When Holskey approached Byrd about the vehicle, he allegedly told Holskey he had received the pickup about a month earlier as collateral for money a woman owed him. Byrd allegedly said he had painted the pickup black after it came into his possession.

According to court documents, the theft report from Flathead County was filed a month earlier, about the same time that Byrd allegedly told Holskey he had received the pickup.

When Holskey reached out to the woman who filed the stolen vehicle report, she allegedly told Holskey she didn’t know Byrd and had not given him the vehicle for any reason. She also told Holskey the pickup was white when she saw it last, according to court documents.

On the same day, law enforcement officials allegedly found a metal spoon in Byrd’s backpack. A white powdery substance found on the spoon tested positive for methamphetamine, according to court documents.