Poplar Police Chief Arrested

[Michael Komorn]

Poplar police chief arrested

ZACH BENOIT Of The Gazette Staff | Posted: Tuesday, August 3, 2010 4:36 pm | Roosevelt County authorities arrested Poplar’s police chief Tuesday on charges that he grew marijuana in a barn at his home north of Culbertson.

 

Chad A. Hilde was arrested on charges of production or manufacture of dangerous drugs and criminal possession of dangerous drugs. He was arraigned before Justice of the Peace Bruce Waldhausen in Culbertson and released after posting a $10,000 bond.

 

In an e-mail sent to the Gazette, Hilde confirmed that the marijuana was growing on his property. He said he was letting a friend use the building to do so and knew that it was for medical purposes.

“The use was in compliance with the State of Montana Medical Marijuana Program and the qualified patient was entitled to possess the amount that was seized from the building,” he wrote. “The Roosevelt County Sheriff was provided with this information at least five hours before he served the search warrant. I have retained an attorney to address the behavior of the Roosevelt County Sheriff.”

 

According to charging documents filed Tuesday in the Montana 15th Judicial District Court in Roosevelt County, a county sheriff’s deputy found eight marijuana plants growing in Hilde’s barn last week.

On July 30, a Roosevelt County Sheriff’s deputy was called out to help find a juvenile who had been reported as a runaway from Culbertson.

 

The deputy found her and while the two waited for Hilde to pick her up, the girl told the deputy that Hilde had marijuana growing in a barn at his home, according to the affidavit. The girl told the deputy that when she asked Hilde about it, he told her it was for medical purposes, the charging documents said.

They go on to say that two deputies went to Hilde’s home and he refused to let them search the barn and said there was nothing in it. While waiting for a search warrant, Hilde asked the deputies if he could get something out of the barn if a deputy escorted him there.

 

The charging documents say Hilde then gave the deputies two documents — a copy of a medical marijuana card belonging to Kristofer Boyd and a Montana Medical Marijuana Program form requesting that Terry Boyd be named Kristofer Boyd’s caregiver.

 

Investigators then learned that neither Hilde nor Terry Boyd are licensed medical marijuana patients or caregivers in Montana, the charging documents state, and that Kristofer Boyd is a licensed patient.

When deputies executed a search warrant of the barn on that same day, they found eight marijuana plants, instructions on growing marijuana and “items which are commonly associated with the manufacture and distribution of marijuana,” according to the affidavit.

Deputies then applied for an arrest warrant for Hilde, which was signed by Roosevelt County Attorney Steven Howard earlier Tuesday.

 

A conviction for criminal production or manufacture carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of up to $50,000. A possession conviction carries up to six months in jail and a fine of between $100 and $500.

Roosevelt County Sheriff Freedom Crawford declined to comment further on the case but said on Saturday that the search falls under the department’s Operation New Beginning. The effort started last spring and is designed to prevent illegal drug activity.

 

Under Montana law, licensed medical marijuana patients are allowed to possess up to one ounce of dried marijuana and grow six plants at a time. Patients can also assign through the state Department of Health and Human Services a caregiver to grow the plants for them.

In March of 2009, Hilde was charged in state District court with eight felony counts stemming from the killings of four moose on the Fort Peck Reservation.

 

In that case, Hilde is accused of letting his 14-year-old son shoot four moose on the reservation during a hunting trip the year before. Investigators said Hilde is not a member of the Fort Peck or any other tribe and that he said he believed his son was an associate member.

Investigators later determined the adopted son is not a member.

 

Michael A. Komorn

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[mstone]

Now they are going after there own. I wonder if the caregiver isn't registered with the state because of slow processing times, hmmm sounds familiar?

 

Has anyone done a study on how long in takes each mmmp state to issue cards to its patients and caregivers? I have a feeling I already know the answer.

[dutch&Dutchess]

another draftee in the warondrugs. Welcome to our reluctant ranks Chief!

[Ionic7]

another draftee in the warondrugs. Welcome to our reluctant ranks Chief!

 

wonder if that will have any bearing at all on cases involving mmj from the past that were under his jurisdiction? Anyone got any theories?

[+Jennifer8]

From the article, alone, things don't look good for Hilde or Terry. Someone shared the same last name as Terry but I'm not clear if that is a relative or just a guy with the same last name. Hilde could have used his job to illegally obtain names from the state of patients, looking to pull a scam using the last name of his associate Terry Boyd.

 

The poaching of animals on tribal land was sh*tty. It wasn't just one big huge moose, but four. That's a lot of meat. A lot more than him or his son needs or their family needs for a year. Sounds like illegal moose meat trafficking behavior to me. (Wondering if the FDA started wire tapping him.)

 

 

In another matter, Chief Hilde uses his son as the one who was named as poaching 4 moose on Indian land, not Chief Hilde, who is actually the one who most likely shot 2 - 4 of those moose on his son's tag. Police Chief dad would know if his own 14 year young son, adopted or not, was lawfully hunting.

 

 

I will read this article again, because Chief Hilde keeps coming across as a genuine dirt ball who uses and exploits others for his own personal gain. I'm sure I missed something. I'm going to read it again.

[Zombiefied]

Terry Boyd is NOT licensed and Kristofer Boyd IS licensed.

[+Jennifer8]

Terry Boyd is NOT licensed and Kristofer Boyd IS licensed.

 

So, how does Kristopher fit into the picture, other than having the same last name as Terry? That's where I start losing the puzzle pieces. From what I understood, Hilde gave documents that claimed he and Terry were legit, but it turned out they were not?

[+RevThad]

So, how does Kristopher fit into the picture, other than having the same last name as Terry? That's where I start losing the puzzle pieces. From what I understood, Hilde gave documents that claimed he and Terry were legit, but it turned out they were not?

My reading of it was that Terry is Kritopher's father, and that Hilde provided documents for the 2 of them. It was later discovered that Terry's paperwork was not legit.

 

I suppose the same thing could happen here, I am not sure if a CG gets notification if a patient is declined, or how long it takes for a CG to receive notice of a patient changing CGs.

 

I do agree with you about the poaching issue, something ain't right in Denmark. That being said, on the mmj issue I would even grant this sheriff the presumption of innocence based on the story as written. He could be a slimeball, or he could just be a fall guy for this Terry.

 

Time will tell.