Eureka woman sentenced for dealing meth

By BETHANY ROLFSON 

and SEABORN LARSON

The Western News

A Eureka woman was sentenced Monday for one felony count of criminal possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and two misdemeanor counts of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia.

District Judge James Wheelis sentenced Helen Michelle Bayse, 56, to five years with the Montana Department of Corrections, with 1 1/2 years suspended.

Bayse was charged after law enforcement officers allegedly found drugs at her residence.

According to a report by Eureka Police Officer Clint Heintz, Eureka police began surveying Bayse’s home in February after they received a search warrant for her garage and vehicle.

Officers spent the next nine days watching Bayes’ property, and on March 3 Heintz and another officer approached the property where two vehicles were parked, including Bayse’s. When on the property, Eureka police searched and questioned Bayes and Billy Jo Seter, another Eureka resident.

Inside the home, Heintz allegedly found a pill bottle with marijuana inside it behind a microwave stand. Seter allegedly told Heintz that it was his pill bottle, and Heintz arrested him.

Above the microwave, Heintz allegedly found a black cloth bag containing a glass pipe and plastic baggies with crystallized residue, which he suspected to be methamphetamine. Heintz arrested Bayes and charged her with criminal possession of dangerous drugs.

Another officer at the home allegedly then found a duffle bag containing letters addressed to Bayse. Along with the letters, Heintz reported finding 15 bags of meth, ranging in size from 0.2 grams to 31.5 grams in weight, as well as one bag with a large meth crystal rolled up in a pair of women’s pants. Officers reported finding an additional four white pills, a scale, a glass pipe with white residue and a snort tube.

Found in the side pouch of the duffle bag was a glass pipe wrapped in leather and a black leather bag. 

Inside the black leather bag was allegedly a small bag of crystals.

According to the affidavit, the top corners of the bag opening were cut off. Under this bag was a metal tin with 10 bags of crystals inside, all but one of these bags had the corners cut off. At the station, all the bags with the corners cut off weighed .2 gram to .3 gram. The bag without the corners cut off weighed 1 gram. Officers believed the corners being cut off was a way for them to mark the weights of the bags for sale.

On the shelves near the microwave three other glass pipes, one wooden pipe, a bag of marijuana, snort tubes, small baggies with methamphetamine crystals inside were allegedly found.

During the search, police allegedly found a total 50.4 grams of meth in 19 different containers, 5.7 grams of marijuana, four glass pipes used to smoke meth, a wooden pipe for marijuana, along with 85 unused plastic baggies, four used plastic baggies, a scale and four snort tubes.