Prosecution case continues in Day 3 of trial

By RICHARD JENKINS

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Bessemer - The third day of the trial of an Ironwood man facing multiple drug and gun charges wrapped up Thursday with testimony from more prosecution witnesses, including Ironwood Public Safety Department Sgt. Matthew Sterbenz, who is one of the primary investigators in the case.

Donovan Howard Payeur, 32, is facing charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to deliver, felon in possession of a weapon, felon in possession of ammunition, possession of a controlled substance-Vicodin, possession of a controlled substance-marijuana and possession of a weapon while committing a felony.

While the charges carry a cumulative maximum sentence of 55 years in prison and/or $94,000 in fines, the possibility of Payeur serving possible sentences concurrently could reduce the potential maximum.

There is also a potential habitual offender designation in the case, which would also impact the sentence.

Payeur was one of four co-defendants charged in relation to a Sept. 24, 2015 incident at an East Coolidge Avenue, Ironwood, house.

The other three defendants - Payeur's wife, Kristina Marie Payeur; Ryan Frank Reinhard and James Charles Engles - all took plea agreements and have already been sentenced. Kristina Payeur was sentenced to six months in jail and two years probation, Reinhard to 246 days in jail and two years probation and Engles to nine months in jail and one year of probation.

According to previous testimony, the Sept. 24 incident began with a noise complaint regarding the Coolidge Avenue house. While officers initially left the scene without talking to anyone about the noise complaint, they later came across two people having car trouble that acknowledged being at the house earlier and that drugs and a gun were present.

The statements the two individuals gave served as the basis for a search warrant for the Coolidge Avenue property, as well as any cars and the detached garage. The search of the property resulted in the discovery of a TEC-9 handgun and drugs, including crystal meth. At around the time the house was searched, local law enforcement officers also conducted a nearby traffic stop of a vehicle Payeur was driving, which subsequently resulted in the discovery of a Vicodin pill, marijuana and a box of ammunition.

In addition to providing a general background on illegal narcotics and the Gogebic Range drug scene, Sterbenz testified he was involved in drafting the search warrant for the Coolidge Avenue house, but didn't participate in the actual search.

"My job was to assist in other things that were needed - interviewing people (and other) such things," Sterbenz said.

He explained several search warrants would eventually be issued in the case, allowing the police to search several cars and phones belonging to the defendants.

Sterbenz was also questioned regarding a point defense attorney Mark McDonald has frequently raised over the course of the trial, that Payeur was simply a meth user and his co-defendant Engles was the dealer.

"No (Engles was never considered the biggest player). My information indicated Mr. Donovan Payeur was the main individual involved in the local trafficking," Sterbenz said.

He did say that Payeur named Engles as the major player, but he had limited success following up on the claim as while authorities were successful in retrieving the contents of Engles' phone, they were unable to access Payeur's - in part because he was unable to provide the proper passcode.

"I do not feel he was cooperative, no," Sterbenz testified, regarding Payeur's inability to provide the needed access.

Sterbenz was also questioned regarding whether any of the previous testimony given in the case was markedly different from what was said in interviews and witness statements. While there were some minor variations, the only two items of significance were whether witness Christine Leonzal actually saw the TEC-9 and the amount of meth Christine Leonzal used a day.

Earlier Thursday, Leonzal testified she visited Payeur in Ironwood with Engles in the days leading up to the September incident. She said she and Engles got separated from each other and Payeur on the way back from a trip to the Highbridge/Mellen area. Meeting Payeur first, she returned to the Coolidge Avenue house with him.

Leonzal testified she was then held against her will, until Engles could be located, as Payeur thought he had stolen the vehicle Leonzal loaned him.

"He told me I was not leaving, or going back home, until James came back," Leonzal said, also testifying Payeur was carrying the TEC-9 around. During his cross examination of Leonzal, McDonald read an excerpt of Sterbenz's report saying she was simply told a gun was present.

Leonzal testified she was able to leave with Engles once he was found and it was determined he hadn't been trying to steal the vehicle.

On Wednesday, Kristina Payeur testified she consumed 10 to 12 grams of meth in a 24-hour period. On Thursday, Sterbenz testified that, despite talking to several hundred meth users, he hadn't dealt with anyone using more than 2.5 grams a day.

"A typical user uses probably between a quarter of a gram to one gram, it's very uncommon in my experience to hear of anyone using (above) two grams," Sterbenz testified. "I can probably count on one hand the times people told me they used two grams or more."

During his cross examination of Sterbenz, McDonald asked why additional tests weren't run on some of the evidence in the case - including fingerprint and DNA tests on the TEC-9.

Sterbenz testified the coating on the gun made it nearly impossible to retrieve fingerprints. He also said that due to limited resources, certain tests aren't done if the police believed they already knew the answer - such as Payeur's ownership of the TEC-9 - from other sources, such as witness statements, and the fact Payeur was the only one with the keys to the case the gun was in.

McDonald also raised the issue that the search didn't turn up items that can be used by drug traffickers - such as a scale, small bags, or the chemicals to manufacture meth - with the only scale in the case being found in the vehicle Engles was driving.

Tara Mayer, who was at the house when the police executed the search warrant, testified that many drug users carried scales with them, regardless of whether they were dealers as they didn't want to get ripped off.

Mayer also testified she received meth from Payeur.

Thursday also featured testimony from Reinhard, who testified to his own meth use and his relationship with Payeur. He said he had seen Payeur distribute meth to others in Michigan, although he didn't see any money exchange hands.

Reinhard also told the court Payeur kept meth in the tool box in his garage, one of the locations authorities found drugs while executing the warrant

Reinhard also testified Engles would be delivering meth to Payeur, during the cross examination, although he later said he only knew this based on what Payeur told him.

Following testimony from Reinhard and Mayer, Dan Hendrickson took the stand.

He testified he sold Payeur, who he only knew by the name "Rook," a non-working snowmobile. While the bill of sale listed the price as $50, Hendrickson testified he actually received $800 and was supposed to receive another $800 in meth for the vehicle. Payeur was arrested before he received the second half of the payment, Hendrickson said.

The snowmobile was in Payeur's garage when police searched it.

McDonald tried to get Hendrickson to admit that he sold the snowmobile to someone else - a different name was listed as the buyer on the bill of sale - and Payeur only picked the machine up.

However, Hendrickson said he didn't know Payeur's name at the time but visually identified him as the person who he sold it to.

McDonald was able to get Hendrickson to acknowledge the bill of sale was a forgery as the $50 wasn't accurate.

Hendrickson was followed by IPSD Sgt. Adam Clemens, who testified he surveilled the Coolidge Avenue house prior to the search and then interviewed Payeur the day he was arrested.

Clemens said Payeur told him that he was simply storing Mayer's meth for her in the garage as she had been "ripped off" by someone else.

Payeur acknowledged using meth with Mayer, according to Clemens, and he simply acted as the middleman between Mayer and a supplier identified as "the ice queen."

Clemens said Payeur stopped cooperating when asked for more information on his supplier, citing fear for his and his family's safety.

While cross-examining Clemens, McDonald questioned why he never attempted to verify Payeur's claim he had a prescription for the Vicodin found on him. Clemens explained, that in his normal experience, a large number of people caught with prescription drugs claim to have a valid prescription but few do. The lack of a pill bottle, along with the fact no prescription was later produced, led Clemens to believe Payeur didn't actually have a legal reason to possess Vicodin.

The trial resumes today and while the prosecution has likely called its last witness, there are expected to be several additional pieces of evidence introduced before the defense begins its case.