Jury convicts Ironwood man on six counts

BESSEMER - It took the jury just over an hour Friday to convict an Ironwood man of all six charges it was asked to deliberate on.

Donovan Howard Payeur, 32, was found guilty of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, conspiracy to possess meth with intent to deliver, felon in possession of a weapon, felon in possession of ammunition, possession of a controlled substance-marijuana and possession of a weapon while committing a felony.

The two most serious charges Payeur was facing, possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver and conspiracy to possess meth with intent to deliver, each carry a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison - although the sentences for those charges may be served concurrently.

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

"We're pleased that the jury understood the case and came back with the verdict that they did," Chief Assistant Prosecutor Tracie Wittla, who tried the case, told the Daily Globe after the verdict. "(I'm) sad that this defendant, through his bad choices, has messed up his life and his children's lives as bad as he has."

Payeur had also been facing a charge of possession of a controlled substance-Vicodin, however that charge was dismissed earlier Friday after defense attorney Mark McDonald submitted evidence showing Payeur had a past prescription for the Vicodin pill discovered on Payeur during a search by Ironwood Public Safety Department officers.

The charges against Payeur stem from a Sept. 24, 2015, incident at Payeur's East Coolidge Avenue, Ironwood, house.

IPSD officers originally responded to a noise complaint at the house in the early morning hours of Sept. 24, according to testimony presented in the case, but left after no one would open the door without a warrant. After leaving the scene of the noise complaint, officers talked to two people having car trouble at a nearby gas station who were at the house earlier and said drugs and a gun were present. The IPSD used this information to obtain a search warrant for the house, which resulted in the discovery of a TEC-9 handgun and drugs - including approximately 15 grams of crystal meth.

At the time the search warrant on the house was executed, local law enforcement officers also conducted a nearby traffic stop on a vehicle Payeur was driving. A Vicodin pill, ammunition and marijuana were discovered during the stop.

Payeur was one of four co-defendants charged in the case. The other three - Kristina Payeur, Ryan Reinhard and James Engles - all took plea agreements and have previously been sentenced.

Kristina Payeur was sentenced to six months jail and two years probation for possession of meth, Reinhard was sentenced to 246 days in jail and two years probation for possession of ammunition as a felon and Engles to nine months jail and one year of probation for possession of meth.

Prior to Friday's verdict, both sides submitted their final pieces of evidence and made closing arguments before the jury was sent to deliberate

Wittla submitted evidence of Donovan Payeur's 2007 burglary conviction in Wisconsin to establish his status as a felon, while McDonald submitted the medical evidence that led to the dismissal of the Vicodin charge.

The documents were the only evidence McDonald presented during the case - other than issues raised during his cross examination of the prosecution's witnesses - and rested without calling any witnesses.

Wittla began her closing arguments by reviewing the charges against Payeur and what the jury needed to find happened to convict on each one. She also reviewed the evidence presented, countering several points McDonald repeatedly brought up during the trial.

Regarding the possession of the TEC-9, which McDonald said was found in the house while Payeur wasn't present and Kristina testified the gun was "theirs;" Wittla said that even if you believed Kristina was the owner of the gun, more than one person can possess an item, according to the law.

She pointed out Donovan was the one with the keys that opened the gun's case, and that Kristina also testified she never touched, shot or even saw the gun again after it was purchased.

"You get to decide if you believe if it was really jointly owned or not, but frankly it doesn't matter," Wittla said. "Because Donovan Payeur can't jointly own a gun, he can't jointly own ammunition. So if it was jointly owned - it's still a problem, a really big problem."

She also reminded jurors that while the defense argued the 14 grams of meth found during the search was Donovan Payeur's personal supply and wasn't intended for sale, almost all the witnesses testified the average consumption of meth was between one-tenth of a gram and one gram. She said the one-tenth figure meant Payeur had 140 doses of meth on hand.

She also attacked the defense claim that Payeur wasn't a dealer, and was just an addict, citing all the witnesses who said Payeur sold or gave them meth.

"We know he sells meth. We know that big bag of meth was slated for distribution," Wittla said.

In his closing, McDonald again raised his point that the search of the Coolidge Avenue house never turned up any scales, bags, ledgers or other things McDonald said would indicate Payeur's status as a dealer.

"You know what is most interesting about this case? Through the five search warrants that were obtained there was not one baggie - not one baggie. There was no cash, there was no scale," McDonald said. "If I'm a dealer how ... am I going to distribute this stuff? Their theory just doesn't make sense."

He also attacked Engles as the actual supplier, rather than Payeur.

"Mr. Engles is the one who should be on trial today," McDonald said.

During a brief rebuttal, Wittla again emphasized the point that possession and ownership weren't necessarily the same thing.

Payeur is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 21.