URGENT – U.P. Breaking News Bulletin – 12-13-17 11:15 p.m. ET
Major Meth Indictment could put Ontonagon County suspects away for life – if convicted
By Greg Peterson
Upper Peninsula Breaking News
Owner, News Director
906-273-2433
(Marquette, MI) – A sweeping federal indictment accuses four people of running a large scale meth operation out homes in Ontonagon County.
The 16-count, 20-page indictment was returned on Fri., Dec. 5, 2017 by a federal grand jury in Marquette, MI
If convicted, the suspects face up to life in federal prison.
In a forfeiture allegation, the government states it wants to permanently sieze the four guns named in the indictment charges.
Named in the indictment are 35-year-old Patrick Joseph Sievers of Ironwood, MI; 43-year-old Dion Roy Jolliff of Watertown, WI; 27-year-old Kathryn Maria Hellen of Ironwood, MI; and 29-year-old Jennifer Elizabeth Smith of Ironwood, MI.
On Mon., Dec. 11, 2018, Sievers and Jolliff were arraigned in Marquette on the new charges.
Both stood mute and had “not guilty” pleas entered for them by U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy P. Greeley.
Sievers and Jolliff arebeing held in the Chippewa County jail – where federal suspects are lodged pending trial.
On Dec. 7, 2017, Hellen was allowed to remain free on personal recognizance bond – and is undergoing treatment at the Great Lakes Recovery Center Facility in Sault Ste. Marie, MI. When treatment is completed, Hellen must “return to court immediately upon discharge from residential substance abuse treatment, to review bond conditions.” Her current list of bond conditions include no drugs or alcohol and can not contact co-defendants.
Smith remains in custody pending sentencing in February 2018 after pleading guilty to distributing methamphetamines. In a plea agreement, Smith plead guilty in exchange for the dropping of other charges. She faces up to 20 years in prison.
The federal prosecutors in the case are Assistant United States Attorney Maarten Vermaat, Assistant United States Attorney Paul D. Lochner and United States Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Andrew Byerly Birge
The charges are laid out in the second superseding federal indictment. The suspects were charged in different cases, but those charges were dropped – and included in the latest indictment.
Numerous other suspects are facing state charges in connection with the meth operation.
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Patrick Joseph Sievers
12-11-17 stood mute – not guilty plea entered by judge
The grand jury alleges that “the amount of controlled substance involved in the conspiracy attributable to Patrick Joseph Sievers as a result of his own conduct, and the conduct of other conspirators reasonably foreseeable to him, is 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance.”
In count four – maintaining drug-involved premises in Ontonagon County – the grand jury alleges between 2016 and March 30, 2017, Sievers “knowingly opened, leased, rented, used, and maintained a place, specifically, his residence located on Dutch Road in Rockland, Michigan, for the purpose of distributing and using methamphetamine, Schedule II controlled substance.”
On March 30, 2017, Sievers “knowingly possessed” a loaded Smith and Wesson .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol, a loaded Hi-Point 9mm caliber semiautomatic rifle, and a loaded Glock .40 caliber “in furtherance of one or more drug trafficking crimes for which he may be prosecuted,” the indictment states.
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Kathryn Maria Hellen
“Kathryn Maria Hellen, knowingly opened, leased, rented, used, and maintained a place, specifically, her residence located on Pennsylvania Avenue in Ontonagon, Michigan, for the purpose of distributing methamphetamine, Schedule II controlled substance,” the indictment states
“The grand jury alleges that the amount of controlled substance involved in the conspiracy attributable to Kathryn Maria Hellen as a result of her own conduct, and the conduct of other conspirators reasonably foreseeable to her, is 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance,” the indictment states.
In Oct 2017, Hellen “knowingly possessed a loaded Taurus International .357 magnum caliber revolver in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes for which she may be prosecuted.”
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Dion Roy Jolliff
12-11-17 stood mute – not guilty plea entered by judge
Jolliff is accused or participating in the meth distribution conspiracy in Ontonagon County
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Jennifer Elizabeth Smith
Pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine
Sentencing in Feb. 2018 before U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Jonker.
Smith admits being part of a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Ontonagon County
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Upper Peninsula Breaking News by Greg Peterson 