CONTENTS

COMMANDER’S MESSAGE

ABOUT US

INVESTIGATIONS

ARRESTS

SEARCHES / SEIZURES

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

CRYSTAL METH

SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY
COMMANDER’S
MESSAGE
Law enforcement has seen some incredible changes over the recent years,
agencies have reached all time lows in staffing. The reaction to Covid 19 and
the subsequent restrictions negatively affected policing, jails and the court
system, backing up cases for several years. Public perception of policing
has deteriorated, social media has erupted with fallacies of abuse of power
and the treatment of the public by officers. Many things have come together
to create an era where interest in the profession has all but ceased. The
inability for our partner agencies to fully staff their departments has inhibited
the quantity of investigations, as our manpower is at an all-time low.

Prior to the outbreak of Covid 19 the Huron Undercover Narcotics Team

averaged 11,400 officer hours. In 2022 there was only 8,900 hours of
service provided to the citizens of our coverage area.

Despite these issues, the quality of the team’s investigations has only
increased.

Team members have adapted technology, ingenuity and downright tenacity

while tackling our never-ending endeavor to disrupt the introduction of
narcotics to northeast Michigan. We have followed drug dealers to Bay City,
Saginaw, and Flint all to arrest them on their return to our area. We have
partnered with other narcotics groups to interdict shipments, all with great
success. A team member traveled to Tennessee to testify at the Federal trial
of a subject that attempted to establish a nation-wide drug empire.

I would like to thank those that continue to recognize the need for HUNT and
the service we provide. It is a privilege to serve as commander of HUNT.

D/Lt. Stuart Sharp, Team Commander

 ABOUT US The Huron Undercover Narcotics Team (HUNT) is a multi-jurisdictional task force governed under
an inter-local Agreement between the counties of Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency, and Presque Isle,
the cities of Alpena and Rogers City, and the Michigan State Police. The Board of Directors is
comprised of members from each of those entities, as is the Advisory Board.
GOALS & OBJECTIVES

GOAL 1 GOAL 2:
Disrupt the availability of illegal drugs,
specifically heroin, fentanyl, prescription Provide other agency assistance/
opiates, methamphetamine, and cocaine. awareness and public awareness

Objectives: Objectives:
• Reduce deaths and serious injury from • Provide detective support/assistance to
drug overdoses partner agencies.
• Reduce toll on community caused by • Provide drug trend information to other
drug trafficking agencies.
• Reduce and solve drug related criminal • Increase public awareness of drug
activity trends and drug/lab identification.
MEMBER PARTICIPATION

Advisory Board
Member Entity Funding In-Kind Provisions
Member
Alcona County Carolyn Brummund $8,000
Alpena City Matt Waligora $8,000 One Full-Time Officer
Alpena County Bill Peterson $8,000 Fiduciary Services
Michigan State Police 4 Full-time Officers, Office Space, Utilities
Montmorency County Robert Stacey $8,000 One Full-Time Officer
Presque Isle County Carl Altman $8,000 One Full-Time Officer
Rogers City Ken Bielas $5,000
* Additional funding $146,122 from Byrne Jag Grant
 Tom Weichel Joe Brewbaker
Alcona County Presque Isle
Prosecuting County
Attorney Sheriff Chad Brown
Scott Stephenson
Alcona County Montmorency County
Sheriff Sheriff

Erik Smith F/Lt. John Grimshaw

Alpena County
Sheriff
BOARD Michigan State Police
Alpena Post
Commander

Ken Radzibon
OF Joel Jett
Presque Isle County
Prosecuting Attorney DIRECTORS Alpena City
Chief of Police

Capt.
Jennifer Johnson
Cynthia Muszynski
ORG CHART

Michigan State
Alpena County Vicki Police
Prosecuting Kundinger 7th District
Attorney Jamie Meyer Commander
Montmorency
Rogers City County
Chief of Police Prosecuting
Attorney

Team Commander

D/Lt. Stuart Sharp

Administrative Assistant
Assistant Team Commander

Contractual D/Sgt. Scott Wood

Undercover Officers

Detective D/Tpr. D/Tpr. Detective Detective

Alpena City Police Michigan State Police Michigan State Police Montmorency County Presque Isle County
INVESTIGAT
76% OF HUNT’S DRUG CASES INVOLVED

TRENDS
The chart to the right
shows percentages
of substances
involved in HUNT
drug cases over the
past 10 years.
Methamphetamine
rises significantly,
while Fentanyl also
increases.

46 9 4
DRUG-RELATED INVESTIGATIONS FUGITIVE LOCATION / ARREST NON-DRUG RELATED CASES
SUBSTANCES INVOLVED

Methamphetamine - - - - - - - 35 Nine investigations were initiated HUNT was able to assist other
Cocaine - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3 pertaining to the location and agencies on a barricaded gunman
Fentanyl - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3 arrest of wanted fugitives, with 12 case, a juvenile runaway case, and
Gabapentin - - - - - - - - - - - - 3 individuals being located and initiated new cases on felony
arrested. firearms, obstructing justice and
Heroin - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
Suboxone - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 operating while impaired.
IONS
METHAMPHETAMINE

INVESTIGATIONS
BY Alpena City

JURISDICTION
153
156
180
163
150
136
169
86
83
59

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

TOTAL ANNUAL INVESTIGATIONS

ARRESTS
50 PEOPLE ARRESTED ON 81 COUNTS

TOTAL ANNUAL ARRESTS

 ARRESTS
BY Alpena City

JURISDICTION

HUNT ARREST TIERS

Quantity of Drugs Involved / Circumstances 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Tier 1 Less than 20 grams or 10 units 20 27 18 22 20 19

20-49 grams or 10-99 units / including

Tier 2 58 40 29 13 25 11
weapons / habitual offender / conspiracy

50-399 grams or 100-999 units / resulting in

Tier 3 6 4 2 2 10 6
overdose death

Tier 4 over 400 grams or 1,000 units 3 0 0 1 0 2

Fugitive and Other Non-Drug Related

33 46 49 14 12 12
Arrests
SEARCHES /
SEARCHES

FIREARMS
SEIZED
FORFEITURE PROCEEDS
SEIZED PROPERTY

2022
2022

$24,699 $22,721

FORFEITURE
FORFEITURE PROCEEDS—10 YEARS

34,562 34,442

22,884
22,721

(Forfeiture proceeds may

15,636 15,172
include the sale of items 3,378
298 2,193 8,588
that were seized during
previous years)
SEIZURES DRUG QUANTITY STREET VALUE
Cocaine 1.6 Grams 160
Fentanyl 7.5 Grams 750
Gabapentin 83 Units 166
Hallucinogens 18.6 Grams 1,116
DRUGS
Heroin 22.5 Grams 5,625
SEIZED Marijuana 310.9 Grams 3,109
2022 Methamphetamine 368.11 Grams 36811
Prescription Opiates 70 Units 711
Synthetics 451 Grams 4,510
Non-Scheduled Substances 64 Units, 302 Grams 367
53,325

STREET VALUE OF DRUGS SEIZED, PAST 10 YEARS

PUBLIC
AFFAIRS
HUNT’s Teen Outreach Campaign is intended to promote self esteem in teens as a
TEEN deterrent from making bad choices that can lead to drug use/abuse. During 2022
the campaign ran from July through September and consisted of 45 ads/posts on
Instagram and Facebook. The ads focused on girls and boys age 13-18, and ran
OUTREACH throughout Northeast Michigan (7th District). The final report on the campaign
showed that the ads reached 263,000 people with 1,237 engagements (clicking on
CAMPAIGN the ad to go to the page or “liking/following” the page. Below is a sample of the
ads that ran.

No one can make you If you spend time

feel inferior without focusing on what others
your consent. are doing you will never
have time for yourself.

HUNT continues to maintain a web site at

www.huntteam.net. The site provides information
and resources related to drug use/abuse treatment
as well as an avenue to provide anonymous tips.

During 2022, the site was visited 770 times with a

total of 111 anonymous tips being sent to HUNT
detectives.
CRYSTAL
METH
Crystal meth continues to be the most prevalent drug seized/investigated
by the team. The drug is highly addictive and its use is known to cause
combative, violent behavior as well as paranoia, anxiety, confusion, and
insomnia.

Local meth labs have decreased over the past several years with the
trafficking of the drug from Mexican criminal groups being the more
common means of obtaining the drug. In Michigan, the bulk of the drug
lands in the larger cities such as Saginaw, Flint, and Detroit, and is then
distributed through criminal networks until it reaches the streets of our
area. During 2022 meth was the focus of 76% of the team’s drug
related investigations.
METH STATS
SIGNIFICAN
In December of 2021, HUNT detectives were contacted by Homeland
Security Agents who were investigating a drug trafficking organization
being run from inside a federal prison in Tennessee. The subject of
their investigation was the president of the Tennessee State Aryan
Nation, the largest prison gang operating in the Tennessee State cor-
rectional system. Aryan Nation members are known for carrying out
violent crimes both inside and outside of prison.

Homeland Security Agents had become aware of a female who had

relocated to Alpena, Michigan and was growing marijuana for this
Aryan Nation president. The plants were to be grown in Alpena,
where it was thought they’d be undetected, and then transported
back to Tennessee for processing and distribution.

HUNT detectives were able to establish surveillance on the Alpena residence and observed as
the marijuana plants were being loaded into a U-Haul for transport. Subsequent traffic stops
were conducted on the U-Haul and another vehicle, resulting in the arrest of the Alpena female
as well as a Tennessee resident who had come to Alpena to help with the transport.

One HUNT detective later travelled to Tennessee to testify in the trial of the Aryan Nation Presi-
dent who was ultimately convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, conspiracy to
distribute marijuana, and money laundering. He was sentenced in 2022 to an additional life sen-
tence (he was already serving a life sentence from a 1996 murder), and was ordered to forfeit
1.26 million dollars which “represented his illegal proceeds.”

While HUNT was attempting to locate an individual who was wanted on an outstanding warrant, a traffic stop
was conducted on a vehicle in which the wanted individual was the back seat passenger. After taking the man
into custody, a search of the vehicle resulted in the location of methamphetamine within a diaper bag that had
been next to the arrestee in the back seat. The child, also in the vehicle with the parents having no knowledge
of the drugs being secreted in the diaper bag. The individual was charged with possession of methampheta-
mine, which was later dismissed when he was sentenced to 2-20 years for charges from a 2021 HUNT case.
T ACTIVITY
In March of 2022 HUNT detectives became aware of an indi-
vidual who had 7 outstanding warrants for his arrest. These
warrants were for failure to appear and contempt of court for
previous charges/convictions stemming from the Alpena City
Police Department, the Alpena County Sheriff Department, the
Michigan State Police, and the Huron Undercover Narcotics
Team.

HUNT detectives were able to establish through surveillance

techniques that this individual was travelling northbound on
I-75 toward Gaylord where he currently resided. HUNT coor-
dinated efforts with the Hometown Security Team in Gaylord
and the Michigan State Police in Gaylord to conduct a traffic
stop. The traffic stop was subsequently successful, with the
individual being found in possession of 4.3 grams of a sub-
stance he admitted was carfentanil that he had just purchased
in Flint. He was transported back to Alpena to face his outstanding charges and was later charged in Otsego
County with possession of the carfentanil as well as habitual offender and second or subsequent offense.

In early 2022, with the assistance of a confidential informant, HUNT conducted a

controlled purchase of methamphetamine in Lewiston. The subject of this investiga-
tion lived in Grayling, and the STING Team had an open investigation in Crawford
County as well. HUNT’s controlled purchase resulted in the
charge of delivery of methamphetamine in Montmorency County
which the subject plead to and was sentenced in November to
4-20 years in prison. In Crawford County, he was charged with
three counts of the same and was sentenced to 6-30 years.
SIGNIFICAN
HUNT has arrested the subject of this investiga-
tion 4 times in the past, all of which carried prison
sentences. In 1995 he was sentenced to 5-8
years for delivery of LSD and marijuana. In 2004
he was sentenced to 2 ½ to 15 years for posses-
sion of heroin. In 2007 he was sentenced to 5-20
years for delivery of meth, and in 2019 he was
sentenced to 1 ½ - 20 years for delivery of hero-
in, for which he was released in September of
2021.

In early 2022 HUNT began receiving information about this individual trafficking meth, fentanyl,
heroin, and Suboxone from his residence (the same residence as the 2019 case) in the city of
Alpena. An investigation ensued involving surveillance of the residence which resulted in a
traffic stop on a vehicle leaving the residence, with the driver being charged with OUID and found
during a blood analysis to have amphetamines, fentanyl, oxycodone, and meth in her system.
There was an investigation by the Alpena Police Department of an overdose that occurred at this
residence as well as other information regarding the distribution of narcotics and drug overdose
incidents. Also, a traffic stop was conducted by the Michigan State Police, on a vehicle driven by
this individual, when he was found to be in possession of methamphetamine.

In June of 2022, HUNT coordinated a traffic stop on the subject after he left his residence, and
found 3 ½ grams of meth, a quantity of cash, and someone else’s Bridge card in the vehicle.
HUNT was able to obtain a search warrant for the residence where another 3 ½ grams of meth
was found, along with a substantial quantity of cash, drug paraphernalia, numerous Suboxone
and other prescription opiates, a quantity of a marijuana/fentanyl mixture, and 451 grams of an
imitation controlled substance.

The subject was arrested and charged with possession with intent to deliver meth, possession
with intent to deliver fentanyl, possession with intent to deliver an imitation substance, and main-
taining a drug house, as well as habitual offender, 3rd offense. At the time of this writing, the
court case is still ongoing.
T ACTIVITY
In September, HUNT embarked on a joint investigation with SANE detectives to infiltrate a drug trafficking con-
spiracy in Onaway. A SANE officer conducted two undercover purchases of methamphetamine from an Onaway
resident. During his conversations with the suspect, he was able to determine that the suspect’s source for the
meth was a local woman nearby. He was able to arrange for a third purchase in which the suspect would have
to obtain the meth from his source. Surveillance at the source’s residence resulted in the observance of a
vehicle registered to a Saginaw address pulling into the drive and leaving a short time later. A traffic stop was
conducted on the Saginaw vehicle which was occupied by 2 people believed to be regional dealers, both having
a substantial amount of cash on their person, both containing some of the funds used by the SANE officer
during the undercover purchases. A search warrant was then conducted at the local source’s residence where
a quantity of cash was located that also contained SANE funds utilized during the undercover purchases, a
quantity of meth, and glass pipes. The local source was charged with delivery of meth, possession of meth,
and maintaining a drug house. The two from Saginaw were each charged with delivery of meth. The original
seller who sold the meth to the SANE officer was charged with 2 counts delivery of meth by the SANE team.

HUNT had information regarding two individuals from Alpena distributing methamphetamine. An investigation
ensued and eventual surveillance established that the couple was travelling downstate, presumably to obtain
methamphetamine for distribution in Alpena. The vehicle was noted to leave the suspects’ residence in Alpena,
travel to the Saginaw area where it made several stops, and then travel back northbound. A traffic stop was
conducted on the vehicle in Alcona County where both of the suspects were identified as occupants. Within the
vehicle was over 46 grams of crystal meth and over 9 grams of heroin. A search warrant was then executed at
their residence in Alpena where an additional 9 grams of methamphetamine
was seized, as well as 2 firearms, almost 3 grams of psilocybin mushrooms,
digital scales, and packaging materials.

Both subjects were charged in Alcona County with possession with intent to
deliver meth, possession with intent to deliver heroin, and conspiracy to
deliver both. Both were charged in Alpena with possession with intent to
deliver meth, felony firearms, and maintaining a drug house. At the time of
this writing, the court cases are still ongoing.
 Huron Undercover Narcotics Team

486 S. Ripley Blvd.

Mailing Address PMB 224
Alpena, MI 49707

Local Phone (989) 356-3395

Toll Free Phone (800) 573-DRUG

Fax (989) 356-4774

Web www.huntteam.net