Two Tooele residents are facing felony charges after police found drugs, paraphernalia and explosives in their residence.
John Scott Shepherd, 32, and Danyel Renee Minnis, 43, are charged with second-degree felony recklessness with an incendiary device, third-degree felony endangerment of a child or elder adult, third-degree felony for knowingly producing, dispensing or manufacturing a controlled substance, as well as three misdemeanor counts of possession or use of a controlled substance and one misdemeanor count of use or possession of drug paraphernalia.
Kathleen Joanne Oltmanns, 30, is also charged with two counts of misdemeanor possession or use of a controlled substance and one count of misdemeanor use or possession of drug paraphernalia.
A Tooele County Sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to a residence on reports of text messages found on the phone of a 10-year-old child offering to sell methamphetamine and heroin for $90, according to a probable cause statement.
The minor provided the text messages and said they spent time at the home of Minnis and Shepherd the previous night and said they smelled marijuana inside the residence.
The deputy responded to the residence of Minnis and Shepherd, where the deputy immediately smelled marijuana after Shepherd answered the door, the probable cause statement said. The deputy had Minnis and Shepherd leave the home then asked them about the smell of marijuana.
During the questioning, Shepherd became “agitated and confrontational” and was detained, according to the probable cause statement. The deputy applied for a search warrant for the home based on the smell of marijuana and text messages with the minor.
Upon approval of the warrant, the deputy and sheriff’s office investigators entered the home, where they encountered Oltmanns, the probable cause statement said. Oltmanns said she lived in a room downstairs, where police found heroin, meth, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Oltmanns admitted to possessing the drugs and paraphernalia found in the room, the statement said.
Police searched the rest of the house and discovered additional paraphernalia items, as well as heroin, meth and marijuana in each room, the probable cause statement said. Marijuana and mushrooms were found growing inside the home.
Drugs and paraphernalia were found within reach of where the minor spent the night, the statement said.
During the search, improvised explosive devices were discovered, as well as explosive building material, according to the probable cause statement. The search was halted and a bomb squad was called in to detonate the devices due to the danger to officers and the occupants.
After the explosives were disposed of, the search resumed and all illegal materials were removed from the home for evidence, the statement said.
Oltmanns is scheduled for a pretrial conference on Aug. 22 before 3rd District Court Judge Robert Adkins. Her bail was set at $2,500 and she was appointed counsel during an arraignment Monday in court.
Bail was set at $25,000 and a public defender was assigned for both Minnis and Shepherd during their initial appearance in 3rd District Court on Monday. They are scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 22 at 9 a.m. for a roll call hearing.