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ROOSEVELT — A search for evidence that a man was illegally importing prescription pills from Afghanistan uncovered a small marijuana grow in the basement of a house, according to Roosevelt police.
Members of the Uintah Basin Narcotics Strike Force executed a search warrant Thursday morning at a house at 420 Roosevelt Circle. They were looking for evidence related to Todd Leroy Ercanbrack's alleged online purchase of Ritalin from an overseas supplier, Bird said.
"It's a prescribed pill, so it's got to be prescribed by a doctor," the corporal said.
A package of 250 Ritalin pills addressed to Ercanbrack was intercepted last month by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, according to a probable cause statement.
On Wednesday, the package was turned over to Roosevelt police. After consulting with the Duchesne County Attorney's Office, a warrant was obtained Thursday and officers went to Ercanbrack's house.
"While in the residence, we found a marijuana grow in the basement next to the bedroom where Todd was found," Bird said.
Police were seen removing at least a half-dozen small marijuana plants from the home. They also found packaging that indicated Ercanbrack had received previous shipments of Ritalin from overseas, Bird said.
Ercanbrack and his wife, Jennifer Ercanbrack, were arrested and taken to the police station for questioning. Todd Ercanbrack told investigators he had a valid prescription for Ritalin but wasn't getting enough pills from local doctors, "so he ordered 250 pills from Afghanistan," according to the probable cause statement.
He also admitted that he was growing marijuana "for his back problems," investigators said.
Todd Ercanbrack, 44, was booked into the Duchesne County Jail for investigation of distribution of a controlled substance, cultivation of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bail is set at $16,360.
Court records show Todd Ercanbrack pleaded guilty in May 2011 to six counts of forging, falsifying or altering a prescription, a class A misdemeanor. His guilty pleas were dismissed in October 2014 after he successfully completed the terms of a plea in abeyance agreement, according to court records.
Jennifer Ercanbrack was cited and released Thursday without being booked into jail. Bird did not immediately know what charges were listed on the citation.
The case against the couple will be screened initially by the Duchesne County Attorney's Office, but there is also a chance federal charges could be filed, Bird said.
