Ironwood man's trial on drug, weapons charges begins

By RICHARD JENKINS

[email protected]

Bessemer - The trial of an Ironwood man facing a number of drug and weapons charges began in Gogebic County Circuit Court Tuesday.

Donovan Howard Payeur, 32, is facing seven felonies - the delivery of methamphetamine, conspiracy to deliver meth, possessing a weapon as a felon, possessing ammunition as a felon, possession of a controlled substance-Vicodin, possession of a controlled substance-marijuana and felony firearm.

Following a morning of jury selection; Chief Assistant Prosecutor Tracie Wittla and defense attorney Mark McDonald gave their opening statements.

Wittla began by laying out the events that led to the charges against Payeur and the witnesses that will be called.

She said the case began with a Sept. 24, 2015 noise complaint at the E. Coolidge Ave., Ironwood, house that would ultimately be determined to be Payeur's residence.

According to Wittla, the responding Ironwood Public Safety officers talked to someone in the garage, who didn't let them in, and then left. After leaving the scene, the officers went to a local gas station where they encountered two people experiencing car trouble that would later be determined to have been at the Coolidge residence.

Wittla explained the occupants of the car gave local law enforcement agencies enough information to seek a warrant to search the house. As part of the investigation, Wittla said, a vehicle came to the attention of the law enforcement departments and Ironwood Public Safety Department officers pulled it over.

Wittla said Payeur was in the vehicle and both marijuana and Vicodin were found in the vehicle, as was ammunition. She said a gun, as well as methamphetamine, were found during the search of the residence.

While telling the jury what she expects the evidence to demonstrate, Wittla said that the amount of drugs found can be evidence of an intent to deliver charge.

"Sometimes somebody will have a small amount of drugs, which would be considered for personal use, and other times they have a larger amount of drugs," Wittla said. "In this case, I believe the evidence will show that Mr. Payeur had a significant amount of methamphetamine, which was far beyond the personal-use amount."

She then discussed the various law enforcement officers that might testify for the prosecution, as well as the three co-defendants - Payeur's wife, Kristina, Ryan Reinhard and James Engles - and other civilian witnesses the jury may hear from.

The other co-defendants in the case have already been sentenced.

During his opening argument, McDonald acknowledged his client used meth but told jurors he wasn't the supplier and that the prosecution had let the actual supplier, Engles, escape serious punishment in its pursuit of Payeur. McDonald said his claim will be proven when the prosecution fails to meet the reasonable-doubt standard needed to convict his client.

"(Payeur) doesn't deny using meth. He doesn't deny using marijuana. The evidence the prosecution presents ... during the trial, I think, will fall short. I think at the conclusion of this case, you are going to find reasonable doubt."

He told jurors several of the prosecution's witnesses were convicted felons, "saving their own souls" and testifying against his client for plea deals.

He finished by further attacking the prosecution's case.

Following opening arguments, Wittla called her first three defendants - Ironwood Public Safety Department Officer Dan Thomas, Gogebic County Sheriff's Department Det./Sgt. Jorge Cruz and GCSD Deputy James Webber.

Thomas testified he was one of the officers who responded to the initial noise complaint and then went to the gas station, where he encountered the two people with car trouble - later identified as Engles and Christine Leonzal, both of whom traveled to the area from Minnesota.

Thomas testified that Engles was eventually arrested for not having a valid drivers license, registration or insurance for the vehicle. He also testified that while interacting with Leonzal, she became increasingly upset - eventually telling him she had been at the Coolidge Ave. house and there were guns and drugs present.

"She claimed she came up here with (Engles)," Thomas testified. "(She was upset because) she was held against her will as collateral ... while the gentleman she was with went for a ride at some point with some people, she was held against her will (at the house)."

Thomas said he contacted IPSD Sgt. Matthew Sterbenz with the information, turning the case over to the Gogebic Iron Area Narcotics Taskforce. The information would eventually lead to the search warrants in the case.

During his cross-examination, McDonald questioned whether Thomas ever saw Payeur at the Coolidge house, which he said he didn't. He also questioned whether Thomas ever investigated whether Leonzal was high, or a drug user and if this could have called the credibility of her information into question.

Cruz testified regarding his interaction with Leonzal, saying he participated in an interview that took place at the sheriff's department and interacted with her throughout the day while she waited for a ride back to Minnesota.

McDonald also questioned Cruz regarding suspecting Leonzal of using drugs and why he never investigated this possibility. Cruz testified he didn't follow this possibility as she was simply a cooperating witness at this point in the case.

McDonald also questioned Cruz on the various things that may or may not have been found during the searches and the wording of the search warrant. Cruz testified he was unable to provide much direct information on these topics as he wasn't directly involved in the searches.

Both Wittla and McDonald also questioned Cruz regarding the Gogebic Range's drug scene, regarding some of the known participants, what the price of meth generally was and how it was often consumed.

Cruz testified local prices can be in the range of $20 for one-tenth of one gram and generally gets cheaper as the quantity increases. He also testified a heavy meth user can consume as much as one gram a day.

While Cruz acknowledged Payeur wasn't on his radar as a person in the local drug scene prior to the September 2015 incident, he said it was his understanding that Payeur had just moved to the area from the Mellen-Highbridge, Wis., area.

Following Cruz on the stand was Webber, a member of the area SWAT team that secured the Coolidge Ave. house prior to GIANT executing its search warrant.

He testified he oversaw the SWAT procedure.

He also testified regarding the Tech-9 gun found at the scene and how it compared to other types of weapons, saying it generally had a larger magazine than other hand guns and was capable of being converted from a semi-automatic to an automatic weapon.

Tuesday's proceeding concluded with the testimony and cross examination of Hurley Police Department Officer Justin Colassaco, the commander of the SWAT team that participated in the securing of the house. Colassaco also testified regarding the role SWAT played that day, and during his cross-examination acknowledged a single woman was the only person in the house when SWAT secured it.

The trial is scheduled to resume at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday with additional prosecution testimony.