Washington man pleads not guilty to drug charges

A resident of Green Acres, Wash., is accused of dealing drugs in Lake County. Michael William Murray, 40, entered a plea of not guilty to two counts of criminal possession with intent to distribute in District Court at Polson June 27.

According to charging documents, on April 30, drug agents in Lake County observed a person, known by the agents to be wanted on an outstanding warrant for his arrest, and conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle he was driving.

Another passenger, besides Murray, was in the vehicle. He too was wanted on an outstanding warrant and was placed under arrest along with the driver. That passenger was in possession of a “taser device.”

Murray was the third person in the vehicle.

The trio denied a request to search the vehicle, so the agents obtained a search warrant and executed it. The agents located a bag containing $1,249 cash, Murray’s wallet and driver’s license, eight grams of methamphetamine, another baggie containing three grams of meth, and five other baggies containing more than 400 pills combined.

The charges carry a maximum of 60 years – 40 years for distributing fentanyl and 20 years for meth.

Judge John A. Mercer set a trial date of Nov. 25. Murray remains in the Lake County Jail with bail set at $25,000.