Major Lake County Drug Bust – Suspect Released – No Room in Jail
Lake County Sheriff Don Bell announced on Wednesday that in cooperation with the Northwest Drug Task Force, 58 year-old Tessie Curley of Charlo was arrested and charged last week with felony distribution of dangerous drugs.
Bell said during the raid, authorities seized cash, paraphernalia and over $2,200 worth of methamphetamine were seized.
Bell said due to the fact that there was no room in the Lake County Jail, Curley had to be released on her own recognizance until space could be located, however, Bell said a Lake County Commissioner has suggested a possible solution to the chronic lack of space in the jail.
“One of the options that Commissioner Barron has brought forward is that a local contractor may build a jail and then the county would lease it back from them so that we wouldn’t have the initial upfront cost, and could build it to our standards,” said Bell. “Sometimes if you work with the federal government it means quite a bit more cost, and by going this route it could save the county quite a bit of money and potentially save years and years off the other way. I’m hoping that’s one of the options that we could look at.”
Bell has faced criticism by David Coffman, another candidate for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office over the issue of a new jail.