Sordid tale of drugs unfolding in trial

PALMER — When police officers found a dump of chemicals near the Little Susitna River in Houston in May 2007, they had two pieces of evidence — a handwritten receipt and a witness report that a white Toyota Land Cruiser had left the scene.

Eventually, that evidence led to three arrests and this week Billyjack Wiglesworth, 34, is on trial, alleged to have run a methamphetamine lab with the chemicals.

Wiglesworth’s co-defendants — Jess Klein, 29, and Karri Embach, 25 – have entered into agreements in which they pleaded guilty to a class A felony relating to possession of meth precursors, Assistant District Attorney Rick Allen said.

During Wiglesworth’s first day of trial, investigator Mike Ingram with the Alaska State Troopers’ Mat-Su Narcotics Team provided the jury a crash course, complete with visual aides, in the ways of cooking meth.

The jury also heard from investigator Joel Smith, also with the narcotics unit but employed by the Wasilla Police Department.

Smith testified that when he got to the dumpsite, “The beach area was pretty clean in general,” except for the one spot where iodine bottles and matchbooks without striker plates had been dumped.

And the smell, he said, was overpowering, leaving him light-headed and sick to his stomach.

“It would be like working in the garage with chemicals and not having enough ventilation,” Smith said.

According to an affidavit Smith filed in the case, the receipt found at the scene was made out to Klein. Five days after finding the dumpsite, troopers pulled over the white Land Cruiser spotted at the scene and found Klein, Wiglesworth and Embach inside.

They also found bottles of the gasoline additive Heet, acetone and a matchbook without the striker plate. Smith wrote that all these things are generally found in a meth lab.

At trial, Smith testified he found a digital gram scale, which he said is commonly found in the homes of drug dealers. When Allen asked if he knew of any legitimate reasons to own such a scale. Smith offered gold panning and gourmet cooking.

“Did you find any evidence of gold panning?” Allen asked.

“No,” Smith replied.

As to cooking, Allen asked if Smith found any cooking staples, any flour or oregano, receiving a “no” each time.

Troopers let Wiglesworth and company go at the scene as they applied for a search warrant, Smith testified. Eventually, between the dumpsite and the evidence in the car, he said, they had enough to arrest them. But they couldn’t find them.

Responding to a tip that Embach and Klein were staying at a shelter in Willow, Smith said troopers drove up to stake out the building.

At around noon on June 4, 2007, Embach, Wiglesworth and Klein piled into a white truck and drove toward Wasilla.

They didn’t get far before then-Houston police Capt. John Rhyshek pulled them over, Smith testified.

In the car, Smith said he found a Haagen Das box containing a syringe, a bent spoon and a plastic baggie.

“I guess it’s what we commonly refer to in the trade as a drug kit,” he said.

Wiglesworth is due to resume trial Wednesday. An exact schedule of the trial was not complete Monday, but judge Vanessa White told the jury to expect to be done hearing evidence before Thanksgiving.

Wiglesworth faces eight counts of possessing meth precursors — all class A felonies — and one class B felony count of burglary. His codefendants are set to testify next week.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.