Couple found guilty on multiple drug charges

Two Montana residents have been found guilty of possessing cocaine, heroin and other drugs.

Doyle Paul Beavers, 52, and Willow Wynn Diaz, 40, both of Hot Springs, Mont., were both found guilty Tuesday of possessing cocaine and less than two ounces of marijuana. Beavers was found guilty of possessing morphine and Diaz was found guilty of possessing heroin.

The distinction was made because Diaz was found with heroin on her person while Beavers had morphine in his system. Heroin is converted to morphine once processed by the body.

Represented by Donna Bucher and Doug Papendick, respectively, Beavers and Diaz both waived their right to a jury trial Tuesday afternoon and asked Circuit Court Judge Tim Bjorkman to rule on the case.

They entered not guilty pleas in the case last year.

Bucher and Papendick moved to have the charges dismissed, stating the state had failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, but the motions were denied by Bjorkman.

Bucher later argued the state did not prove knowing possession on Beavers part because all drugs found in a search of the vehicle were located in Diaz’s purse.

However, Bjorkman found the pair guilty on all charges, citing that both had morphine, cocaine and marijuana in their urine at the time of their arrest.

The pair was originally scheduled to appear in court at 1 p.m. Tuesday. When they failed to appear, Bjorkman issued a bench warrant for both. They entered the court room approximately 20 minutes later and spent the afternoon sitting in the courtroom as other sentences and legal matters proceeded.

They were arrested on April 9, 2010, after a South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper stopped to check on a vehicle parked on a field approach off of 403rd Avenue south of Interstate 90.

Beavers told Trooper Grant Lubbers he had bought the vehicle in Connecticut but did not have his name on the title.

Beavers allegedly was speaking very fast and had no teeth, according to testimony given by Lubbers in 2010.

“He was very talkative,” Lubbers testified during a court proceeding instigated by the pair’s lawyers designed to suppress the evidence gathered on April 9, 2010.

“If it was just a motor assist, typically people aren’t real nervous in coming in contact with us,” the trooper said.

The vehicle’s license plate also did not come back to the black Volkswagen Jetta the pair was found in at the time of the stop.

Trooper John Lord was contacted. Court documents show Lord also became suspicious of Beavers’ answers and demeanor. Beavers allegedly admitted to prior drug use but said there were no drugs in the vehicle.

Lord then walked his drug dog around the vehicle. The dog indicated the presence of drugs. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed cocaine and heroin as well as two used pipes that smelled of burnt marijuana.

A box of 80 syringes, a burnt spoon and a device used to split and crush pills were also found in the vehicle.

After the verdict, Assistant Attorney General Katie Hansen moved to revoke bail for the pair, saying they were likely to be flight risks.

The two had been free on $7,500 bond.

Both Bucher and Papendick objected to the suggestion, with each stating their client had kept in regular contact and done nothing to indicate being a flight risk.

“If Doyle wasn’t going to come back, he wouldn’t have come back a long time ago,” Bucher said.

Bjorkman said he would rerelease the two if they both passed urine tests.

This visibly flustered Beavers, who claimed to have a medical marijuana card. Medical marijuana is legal in Montana.

“I’m going to be dirty for marijuana,” Beavers declared after the court proceeding had closed. “I guarantee it.”

The Davison County Jail confirmed that both were in jail as of Tuesday night. The pair will be sentenced on March 1.

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