POPLAR POLICE CHIEF ARRESTED

Roosevelt County authorities arrested Poplar's police chief Tuesday on
charges that he grew marijuana in a barn at his home north of Culbertson.

Chad A. Hilde was arrested on charges of production or manufacture of
dangerous drugs and criminal possession of dangerous drugs. He was
arraigned before Justice of the Peace Bruce Waldhausen in Culbertson
and released after posting a $10,000 bond.

In an e-mail sent to the Gazette, Hilde confirmed that the marijuana
was growing on his property. He said he was letting a friend use the
building to do so and knew that it was for medical purposes.

"The use was in compliance with the State of Montana Medical Marijuana
Program and the qualified patient was entitled to possess the amount
that was seized from the building," he wrote. "The Roosevelt County
Sheriff was provided with this information at least five hours before
he served the search warrant. I have retained an attorney to address
the behavior of the Roosevelt County Sheriff."

According to charging documents filed Tuesday in the Montana 15th
Judicial District Court in Roosevelt County, a county sheriff's deputy
found eight marijuana plants growing in Hilde's barn last week.

On July 30, a Roosevelt County Sheriff's deputy was called out to help
find a juvenile who had been reported as a runaway from Culbertson.

The deputy found her and while the two waited for Hilde to pick her
up, the girl told the deputy that Hilde had marijuana growing in a
barn at his home, according to the affidavit. The girl told the deputy
that when she asked Hilde about it, he told her it was for medical
purposes, the charging documents said.

They go on to say that two deputies went to Hilde's home and he
refused to let them search the barn and said there was nothing in it.
While waiting for a search warrant, Hilde asked the deputies if he
could get something out of the barn if a deputy escorted him there.

The charging documents say Hilde then gave the deputies two documents
- - a copy of a medical marijuana card belonging to Kristofer Boyd and a
Montana Medical Marijuana Program form requesting that Terry Boyd be
named Kristofer Boyd's caregiver.

Investigators then learned that neither Hilde nor Terry Boyd are
licensed medical marijuana patients or caregivers in Montana, the
charging documents state, and that Kristofer Boyd is a licensed patient.

When deputies executed a search warrant of the barn on that same day,
they found eight marijuana plants, instructions on growing marijuana
and "items which are commonly associated with the manufacture and
distribution of marijuana," according to the affidavit.

Deputies then applied for an arrest warrant for Hilde, which was
signed by Roosevelt County Attorney Steven Howard earlier Tuesday.

A conviction for criminal production or manufacture carries a prison
sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of up to $50,000. A possession
conviction carries up to six months in jail and a fine of between $100
and $500.

Roosevelt County Sheriff Freedom Crawford declined to comment further
on the case but said on Saturday that the search falls under the
department's Operation New Beginning. The effort started last spring
and is designed to prevent illegal drug activity.

Under Montana law, licensed medical marijuana patients are allowed to
possess up to one ounce of dried marijuana and grow six plants at a
time. Patients can also assign through the state Department of Health
and Human Services a caregiver to grow the plants for them.

In March of 2009, Hilde was charged in state District court with eight
felony counts stemming from the killings of four moose on the Fort
Peck Reservation.

In that case, Hilde is accused of letting his 14-year-old son shoot
four moose on the reservation during a hunting trip the year before.
Investigators said Hilde is not a member of the Fort Peck or any other
tribe and that he said he believed his son was an associate member.

Investigators later determined the adopted son is not a
member.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.