Woman Charged With Drug Possession
Hattie Lei Turcotte has been arrested for the charges of criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony, and criminal possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor.
Bail was set at $75,000. She is scheduled to make her initial appearance in district court on March 10.
If convicted of the felony charge, Turcotte faces maximum penalties of 5 years in prison, a $5,000 fine or both. If convicted of the misdemeanor charge, maximum penalties are six months in jail and a a $500 fine.
According to court documents, a deputy observed a vehicle that didn’t have a front license plate at the Gold Dust Casino near Bainville on Jan. 3. When the vehicle left the parking lot, it turned west on U.S. Highway 2 without using a turn signal.
It was discovered that Turcotte’s North Dakota drivers license was expired and she was on felony probation for bad checks.
After a stop was initiated in Culbertson, Turcotte admit- ted she was in violation of her probation conditions by being in Montana and drinking alcohol.
On Jan. 13, a search was conducted at the Roosevelt County Sheriff Office’s impound area after a search warrant was obtained. Discovered during the search were three syringe caps, five Q-tips and a contact lens case that contained a small shard of suspected meth. When field tested, the substance tested positive as methamphetamine.
