Man stopped following suspected meth deal faces drug charges

A man that investigators tailed from a suspected methamphetamine deal earlier this year pleaded not guilty to multiple drug charges in court late last month.

Joshua Dustin Ellcey, 42, faces one felony count of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and a misdemeanor charge of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia in Lincoln County District Court. He was arraigned Nov. 22.

Authorities honed in on Ellcey on Aug. 18. That’s when Clint Heintz, a deputy with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office based in the Eureka area, learned that a local man likely was returning from Washington with a “load of narcotics,” court documents said.

In his account, Heintz spotted a vehicle with a license plate matching the description given to him by an undercover law enforcement officer heading north on state Highway 37 about 1:15 p.m. According to the affidavit, Heintz got back in touch with the undercover officer, who told him they suspected the alleged dealer planned to meet with illicit clients in the area.

About 6:45, Heintz spotted the same vehicle at a local casino. Heintz wrote that he knew “it to be a location used by drug dealers and user[s] to make exchanges.” The undercover officer confirmed to Heintz the location of the upcoming sale, court documents said.

From his vantage point, Heintz watched as a man emerged from a nearby gold minivan and approached the vehicle. He got into the vehicle and spent several minutes inside before returning to the minivan, Heintz recalled in the affidavit.

Heintz watched the alleged dealer’s vehicle depart the area, heading northbound on U.S. Highway 93, as he waited for the minivan to leave. Heintz wrote that he noticed the minivan’s plates were improperly displayed in the rear window. As the motorist turned into a local gas station, Heintz hit his emergency lights.

The deputy wrote that he recognized Ellcey as the driver from previous encounters. Ellcey allegedly admitted the temporary tags were expired and later said he thought his license out of North Dakota might be suspended, according to court documents.

During their subsequent conversation, Ellcey allegedly told Heintz he was food shopping. When Heintz asked if anything else had happened, “Ellcey seemed nervous,” the affidavit read.

Heintz recalled asking Ellcey to exit the vehicle while the deputy waited on the status of his license. Patting him down, Heintz felt a lighter and an object that conformed to the shape of a cap, court documents said.

By then, Heintz had learned that the vehicle’s registration, which was expired, was in another individual’s name, according to the affidavit. It lacked insurance. Heintz wrote that Ellcey also had suspended licenses out of both Montana and North Dakota.

Heintz returned to Ellcey’s shopping trip, asking him if he could verify the story. Ellcey allegedly said he bought food at the store and then met up with a friend. The friend was returning the key to his vehicle. Ellcey told Heintz he left the key in his friend’s truck at some earlier point.

Ellcey said he did not receive or take any items from his friend’s vehicle, according to court documents. When Heintz pressed him further, Ellcey denied keeping drugs in the vehicle and then, more specifically, methamphetamine.

Ellcey told Heintz he last used methamphetamine three years prior and admitted a previous drug conviction in North Dakota, court documents said. The deputy returned to the other item he felt in Ellcey’s pocket, the object that felt like a cap, and asked the man to retrieve it. When Ellcey pulled it out, Heintz recognized it as “the cap to a hypodermic needle,” according to the affidavit.

Based on the item, Heintz had Ellcey show him his arms. His right was free of marks, but his left boasted a dark bruise inside the elbow and small red dots. Heintz then asked for permission to search the vehicle, but Ellcey rejected the idea, according to court documents.

Rebuffed, Heintz called for a U.S. Border Patrol agent with a K-9 to assist at the scene. While waiting, he cited Ellcey for driving while suspended, an expired registration and operating a vehicle without liability insurance.

He told Ellcey he planned to seize the vehicle and that the other man was free to go. Heintz gave Ellcey his card and watched the other man walk away on foot.

Upon arrival, the Border Patrol agent’s dog alerted to narcotics near the driver’s side door, Heintz wrote. They arranged to tow the vehicle to impound.

On Aug. 18, Heintz received a search warrant for the minivan. Inside, he reported finding a gram of a crystal substance that tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine, according to court documents. He also found six hypodermic needles, one of which tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine, court documents said.

A search of Ellcey’s criminal history turned up a felony possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute conviction in 2005. In 2007, he was convicted in North Dakota on a felony count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He pleaded guilty in 2010 to another felony possession of drug paraphernalia in Fargo, N.D., Heintz wrote.

Criminal possession of dangerous drugs is punishable by up to five years in state prison and a $5,000 fine. Misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia carries a maximum punishment of six months in county jail and a $500 fine.

Ellcey is due back in court for an omnibus hearing on Jan. 31. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for Feb. 28. Were the case to go to trial, it would begin in April.