Joint law enforcement operation yields results

On Friday and Saturday, May 10-11, the Eddy County Sheriff's Office participated in Operation Spring into Action.

The operation was designed to locate and seize illegal drugs in several area counties by saturating them with an increased police presence.

A whole host of law enforcement agencies participated in the joint operation, including the Eddy, McLean, Benson, Ramsey, Nelson, Cavalier and Dunn County Sheriff's Departments, as well as the Lake Region Narcotics Task Force, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the N.D. National Guard Counter Drug Organization.

From these agencies, groups were formed and each was assigned to patrol one of the following counties: Eddy, Nelson, Ramsey or Benson.

The group assigned under Eddy County Sheriff Paul Lies consisted of Agent Travis Ramsey of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Deputies Tyler Denning and Corey Donaldson of the Benson County Sheriff's Office, Deputy Troy Allen of the Eddy County Sheriff's Office, and Corporal Raymond Copeland of the McLean County Sheriff's Office.

Lies said the group also included drug-sniffing K-9s, as well as a helicopter just in case any pursuits took place.

For two days, the group executed "saturation patrols" in the county in search of illegal narcotics.

While there weren't any high-octane police chases, several searches were conducted and one individual, Gary Cook, has since been charged with possession of a schedule 1 hallucinogenic substance, a Class A misdemeanor.

Court documents say that on Saturday, May 11, at around 7 p.m., Corporal Raymond Copeland stopped a vehicle in New Rockford near the intersection of 2nd Ave North and 2nd Street North for expired registration and a non-working tail light. Gary Cook was behind the wheel.

"Cook was observed to be extremely nervous while talking with Deputy Donaldson and Copeland," states court documents.

During the stop Cook allegedly admitted to having psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as magic mushrooms or more simply, "shrooms."

According to court documents, Donaldson and Copeland searched the vehicle and found a glass pipe used to smoke marijuana, and several bags of mushrooms.

One was a large bag with approximately 388 grams of ground up psilocybin mushrooms. Another had approximately 442 grams of cut up psilocybin mushrooms, while a third bag of whole psilocybin mushrooms weighed in at approximately 176 grams.

"Cook stated he purchased the mushrooms at a hippie fest in Colorado," states court documents. "... Cook stated they were all purchased for personal use and that he would grind them up into his brownies and eat brownies all week. Cook said the amount he purchased would last him all summer."

Cook's initial appearance is scheduled for June 10. If ultimately found guilty, he could face up to 360 days behind bars, a fine of $3,000, or both.

Cook is considered innocent unless proven guilty.

Among the counties that participated in the operation, Lies said, there were a number of successful stops and drug searches, and he said there were even a few pursuits. He added that law enforcement are still compiling all the numbers from the two-day-long joint operation.

This was the first time this operation has ever been executed, and Lies said there's already ongoing discussions about doing it more often.