Couple found guilty of grow operation

PALMER -- A Palmer Superior Court jury came back Wednesday afternoon with a guilty verdict on all counts in the case of a Wasilla couple on trial for a large marijuana growing operation.

Max Foltz, 40, and Billie Welsh, 35, were co-defendants in a week-long jury trial. Each were convicted on six counts of fourth-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance in connection with a Mat-Su Drug Unit investigation.

The drug unit located 183 marijuana plants April 27, 2000, in what appeared to be an uninhabited Houston home after receiving an anonymous tip from Foltz' former wife, Lora Dragseth.

The tip, received first in a phone call and followed up by a fax sent March 27, 2000, alleged that Foltz and Welsh were connected with three homes, all of which were used for illegal drug activity, according to charging documents.

The couple reportedly lived at a Wasilla home with their seven children, yet, according to charging documents, they were making arrangements to purchase two other homes, one in Rainbow Estates and the other in Horizon West Addition in Houston.

Investigators reportedly found 183 plants at the Houston home, and connected that growing operation to Foltz and Welsh through utility payments, keys that were in their possession and other evidence linking them to the home. The couple was not charged in connection with evidence seized at the other two homes.

During the trial, defense attorney Karen Bretz contended that Foltz' former wife contacted the drug unit out of spite and fabricated the story in order to obtain full custody of their son. The defense contended Foltz and Welsh had nothing to do with the Houston house operation.

"Who would get custody (of their son) became a primary issue," Bretz said in closing arguments. "She exhausted all her options but one, and that was to connect Mr. Foltz to a marijuana grow she knew wasn't his… She was putting the finishing touches on her big plans."

Dragseth, now married to Billie Welsh's former spouse, "framed" the couple, Bretz said.

The case against Foltz and Welsh was further confused because a tenant who had lived at the Houston home died in a snowmachine accident in December 1999. A roommate that had briefly rented with him remained unidentified throughout the trial.

A friend, Joe Martin, owns the Houston home and the defense contended that Foltz' only role was to collect the rent and deposit it in the bank for Martin after he moved.

Assistant District Attorney Jack Smith told the jury this "mystery roommate ought to be produced, if indeed she exists." He found it too convenient, he said, to "blame the dead guy."

No beds were reportedly in the bedrooms when drug unit investigators used a search warrant to look at the Houston home. They found plants in the bedrooms, drying pot leaves and a few food items in the refrigerator. A garbage bag contained up to 40 items, all of which were analyzed for fingerprints by the State Crime Lab. Only one, a Pepsi can, turned up a fingerprint, which belonged to Welsh.

Cigarette butts located in the house were identified as Camels and Merits, which are Foltz' and Welsh's brands.

"The state would have you believe that only Mr. Foltz and Ms. Welsh drink Pepsi, that they are the only ones who smoke Camel and Merit cigarettes," Bretz said in closing arguments. "This doesn't add up to much at all."

Investigators watched the Houston home for more than a month, testified drug unit officer Doug Sonerholm. During that time he reportedly saw Welsh's vehicle parked in the Houston home driveway once and, on another occasion, Foltz' truck. He smelled marijuana from the road as he drove past, he said.

Drug unit officers were issued a conditional search warrant by Palmer District Judge Suzanne Lombardi for the Houston home. If they found evidence of a marijuana growing operation there, they would be able to search Foltz' Wasilla home, the officer testified. If they did not find evidence, they wouldn't be allowed further searches relating to Foltz and Welsh.

Throughout the trial, the state linked marijuana found in the Houston home to the Foltz' Wasilla home. A search of the Wasilla home turned up less than two ounces of pot and one-one hundredth of a gram of cocaine, reportedly found in a grinder. But Smith reminded the jury in closing arguments that officers found scales, plastic baggies and other equipment used for marijuana sales as well.

Smith rejected what he called the defense's "conspiracy theory."

"Use your knowledge of the ways of the world," Smith advised jurors.

After the verdict was announced, Bretz said she was uncertain about whether to appeal the jury's decision. She said she is convinced that her clients are innocent.

The jury pool from which to select jurors was small, Bretz said. Most members of the jury were well beyond middle age, with several being of retirement age. One juror works at the Palmer Court House part-time; both sides said they wanted her on the jury because they felt she would be impartial.

Foltz and Welsh are scheduled for a May 31 sentencing date. At that time, the judge will be asked to give Foltz a presumptive sentence of up to five years because he has a prior drug conviction from a 1989 case in Fairbanks. Welsh will likely serve no jail time, Smith said.