Caledonia Argus

Hearings continue for men charged in meth bust near Eitzen

Posted: 12/10/03

The five men accused of manufacturing of methamphetamine appeared in district court for an omnibus hearing Tuesday, December 2.

The men being charged include: Levi John Jones, 19, of Harperís Ferry, IA; Theodore J. Hawver, 20, of Spring Grove; Ronnie Lee Shefelbine, 21, of Caledonia; Thomas Alvin Monson, 22, of Spring Grove; and Todd Weston, 39, of Eitzen. They were arrested on September 19 for their alleged involvement in a methamphetamine lab in a trailer house a few miles outside of Eitzen.

The hearing, which lasted most of the day, covered legal questions and the interview of the first witness, Houston County Sheriffís Department Captain Gary Eddy.

Some of the questions Eddy answered pertained to evidence on hand and evidence that was destroyed because of its toxicity.

Ross Phelps, Todd Westonís attorney, asked in a memorandum on December 2 that all post-arrest interviews be suppressed and ruled inadmissible for his client. He cited several reasons, including illegal, unconstitutional questions, and no Miranda warning given at the time of arrest.

Phelps is also contesting the fact that some evidence that was seized has been destroyed. He said that the search warrant told Cpt. Eddy to retain everything that he seized.

The judge will rule on these objections after the omnibus hearings have been completed. The hearings have been continued to Wednesday, December 31, and January 5, 2004, both at 8:30 a.m.

Houston County Attorney Rick Jackson said there are at least three more people who will be interviewed. The process is slower than normal because there are five defense attorneys involved, Jackson said.

All five have been charged with three felony counts including first degree manufacturing of a controlled substance and liability of crimes of another; possession of methamphetamine; and tampering with anhydrous ammonia. Weston is additionally charged with possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree.

Jones is out on bail. Shefelbine is at a halfway house in LaCrosse. Weston and Hawver remain in the custody of the Houston County jail while Monson is in the Fillmore County jail.

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