Hughes Convicted on Possession of Meth Charge

Leighton Hughes was found guilty of criminal possession of a dangerous drug (methamphetamine) March 20. The one-day trial featured testimony and body camera footage from local law enforcement that demonstrated that Hughes had been carrying methamphetamine when he was arrested by the Glasgow Police Department and Valley County Sheriff's Deputies.

On June 22, 2018, a GPD officer and a VCSO deputy went to Hughes' house to serve a misdemeanor warrant for assault. According to an account of the incident by then-chief of police Bruce Barstad and current-chief Brien Gault, the arresting officer found, what he suspected at the time, to be meth on Hughes.

Following the arrest and after interviewing the occupants of the residence, the officers claimed they had determined meth had been smoked in the house, and they filed for a search warrant. During the search they found a "clandestine" laboratory and meth precursors. Those items led law enforcement to charge Hughes with a number of felonies and misdemeanors.

The full charges included the operation of a clandestine laboratory for the production of a dangerous drug, namely methamphetamine; the possession of dangerous drugs for both marijuana and meth; possession of drug paraphernalia; criminal possession of dangerous drug precursors for the production of meth; and finally endangering the welfare of a child.

Hughes was only tried for the initial possession of methamphetamine, however, following a ruling by Judge Laird to suppress evidence collected by the search. According to County Attorney Dylan Jensen, the warrant request had not clearly identified how officers determined meth had been smoked in the house. As a result of the suppression, the other charges were dropped and the state pursued the possession case alone ending in a conviction.

Hughes faces a sentence of up to five years, and that hearing is set for May 6 in District Court.