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SALT LAKE CITY — A federal grand jury has indicted a Duchesne County man months after police raided his house looking for drugs and found nearly two dozen guns instead.
The four-page indictment, unsealed Thursday, charges Ferron Wyasket with one count of being a felon in possession of firearms. The indictment includes a list of 12 rifles, nine handguns and two shotguns authorities said they seized during an Oct. 3 raid on Wyasket's home in Arcadia, Duchesne County.
The raid — conducted by FBI agents, Bureau of Indian Affairs police officers and members of the Uintah Basin Narcotics Strike Force — was the culmination of a monthslong investigation into suspected drug trafficking at the house, which is located on Ute tribal land.
Local investigators say they've long suspected Wyasket, 56, and his wife, 54-year-old Jolene Wyasket, were selling methamphetamine, but federal court rulings bar them from investigating tribal members accused of committing crimes on tribal land.
Authorities spent more than five hours searching the Wyaskets' house and the surrounding property after serving the warrant in October. Instead of finding meth, they said they found a small amount of marijuana, some drug paraphernalia and 23 firearms.
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2 people in custody at suspected drug house on Ute tribal land
Two people were arrested Thursday after federal and local law enforcement agencies served a search warrant on a suspected drug house on Ute tribal land in Duchesne County.The Wyaskets, both enrolled members of the Ute Indian Tribe, were expected to face drug charges in tribal court. A tribal court clerk told KSL she had no information about a case against the couple Thursday. A call to the tribal prosecutor's office was not returned.
State court records show Ferron Wyasket pleaded guilty to attempted arson, a first-degree felony, in September 1993. The 20-year-old felony conviction makes it a crime under state and federal law for Wyasket to possess a firearm.
Wyasket, whose first name is listed as "Faron" and "Ferron" in the grand jury indictment, remains in federal custody. He faces 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. His next court appearance is set for Monday.
No federal charges have been filed against Jolene Wyasket.
