Suspected drug dealers allegedly arrested with more than 47 grams of meth
Jun. 3—A traffic violation in the Flathead Valley in March led to the arrest of a pair of suspected drug dealers and the seizure of more than 47 grams of methamphetamine, prosecutors say.
Charles John Arthur Cislo, 36, faces felony counts of possession of dangerous drugs with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia in Flathead County District Court following his March 21 arrest. Held in the county jail with bail set at $60,000, Cislo is scheduled to appear before Judge Dan Wilson on June 12 for his arraignment.
Tanita Jo Anderson, 33, faces felony charges of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to court records. Currently held on $135,000 bail, Anderson is expected to appear before Judge Danni Coffman on June 5 for arraignment.
Flathead County Sheriff's Office deputies pulled over Anderson's vehicle after it allegedly stayed in the left-hand lane of U.S. 2 for four-and-a-half miles as it headed south from the intersection with Montana 40 just after 1 a.m. During the subsequent traffic stop, the deputy identified the driver as Anderson and the passenger as Cislo, court documents said.
Anderson allegedly was driving with a suspended license, and Cislo had a warrant out for his arrest. As he placed Cislo under arrest, the deputy received permission from Anderson to search the vehicle, court documents said.
Investigators later turned up a black case containing a bag filled with large rocks of a white crystalline substance that authorities suspected was methamphetamine, court documents. The black case, which also allegedly contained a cache of small plastic bags, was found on the floor where Cislo was sitting at the time of the traffic stop.
Other items found during the search included a plastic bottle with two pipes extending outward, a makeup mirror with white powder on it, and a gray zipper bag with additional drug paraphernalia, court documents said.
During a subsequent interview with deputies, Anderson allegedly admitted knowing that the black case contained methamphetamine and that it belonged to Cislo. The white powder on the mirror was methamphetamine as well, she said, and she told investigators that the pair used it to take the drug earlier the night of the stop, according to court documents.
She indicated that a search of the gray zipper bag would uncover the psychedelic drug dimethyltryptamine, better known as DMT, according to court documents.
As part of the investigation, deputies contacted the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force. Both Anderson and Cislo were known to the group and were suspected of dealing drugs, particularly methamphetamine and fentanyl, court documents said.
After reviewing the deputies' findings, agents with the task force concluded that the methamphetamine in the vehicle was intended for sale rather than personal use, according to court documents.
Cislo is facing a felony drug possession charge in a separate ongoing case and has a prior drug possession conviction from a case that was brought against him in 2017.
News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Maxwell Anderson case goes to jury after seven days of testimony
A jury is weighing the fate of Maxwell Anderson who is charged with killing and dismembering Sade Robinson. Anderson, 34, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse, hiding a corpse and arson in the April 2024 death of Robinson, 19, after they went on a first date in Milwaukee. Prosecutors urged jurors to consider the totality of the evidence, while the defense argued the state had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Anderson had killed Robinson. Assistant District Attorney Ian Vance-Curzan told jurors to use "common sense and search for the truth." He described Robinson as "anything and everything" that someone that age would want to be. She worked two jobs, went to Milwaukee Area Technical College, supported herself and lived in a small studio apartment on the city's east side. "Most of all, she was respected and loved by her family," Vance-Curzan said. Defense Attorney Anthony Cotton argued there were holes in the prosecution's story, and there was no weapon found or clear DNA evidence to back up the state's claims that Anderson killed Robinson in his home. "I'm not here to hide a thing," Cotton said. "Study it all. Study every piece of evidence in this case." The state admitted more than 300 pieces of evidence and called more than 65 witnesses. The defense did not call any. The trial has featured hours of testimony from investigators and technical experts to describe and explain phone data, security footage and physical evidence recovered during the investigation into Robinson's disappearance and death. Among the witnesses in the trial's final days were a former girlfriend of Anderson's and a former tenant. News media was instructed not to identify either witness. The former girlfriend said she had dated Anderson from May 2022 to March 2023. The woman said she contacted police when she saw news of Anderson's arrest. She testified he was sometimes 'emotionally abusive,' but never physically harmed her. She recalled an incident in which Anderson got into a fistfight with her previous boyfriend at a bar on St. Patrick's Day 2022. She also testified there were multiple hidden compartments throughout Anderson's home, including a false bottom in a drawer under the bathroom sink. The former tenant said he did not hear anything amiss in the home on the evening of April 1, 2024 — no screams, struggles or loud tools. This was out of the norm because Anderson often made noise that could be heard throughout the house, the tenant said. Anderson had loud visitors over in the early morning hours 'all the time' and operated power tools for his woodworking several times a month, the tenant said. The tenant said he heard Anderson moving a heavy object down the stairs between 5 and 6 a.m. one morning that week, but could not recall which day. It was sometime before April 4, 2024, when a SWAT team swarmed the home, the tenant said. Throughout his closing argument, Vance-Curzan used a digital presentation of surveillance footage and phone data to walk the jury through Robinson's final days. Vance-Curzan emphasized several facts: the photos showing Robinson incapacitated found on Anderson's cell phone data and that were deleted; the two's DNA found on a sweater he was wearing the day after their date ; and that the backpack he is seen wearing on bus security footage has never been found. He recounted the gruesome details of Robinson's death to try to prove intent. "What kind of person cuts off someone's head off? A killer, a killer who's trying get away with killing," Vance-Curzan said. "There is no question about the person responsible for doing it. The killer, it's him." Cotton, in his closing, hammered on the lack of DNA evidence found in Anderson's house. "None of Sade's blood is anywhere in that home," Cotton said. Once the attorneys finished their closing arguments, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Laura Crivello dismissed jurors and asked them to start deliberations. She had earlier given the jury instructions. If the jury is not satisfied that Anderson is guilty of first-degree intentional homicide, they can still convict him of the less serious offense of first-degree reckless homicide. The verdict must be unanimous. If jurors cannot agree on a verdict, then a hung jury is declared, and the case may be retried. There is no time limit on deliberation, and jurors can deliberate anywhere from hours to weeks to decide a verdict. "You jurors are the judges of the credibility of the witnesses and the weight of the evidence," Crivello said. Maia Pandey, Ariela Lopez and Ashley Luthern of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this article. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Jury to decide Maxwell Anderson case, charged in Sade Robinson's death
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Man serving life for crash that killed couple outside restaurant sentenced for drugs, guns
Mason Meyer is already serving a life sentence for killing a husband and wife in 2020 when he crashed into them as they were on a Newport restaurant's outdoor patio. Meyer, now 32, was being pursued by Cincinnati police that day because investigators, who were conducting surveillance outside a Lower Price Hill home, saw him "engage in what they believed to be a gun sale," according to court documents. Meyer already was suspected of involvement in guns and drug dealing. Eleven days before, police tried to pull over his vehicle, but he sped away and was not pursued. But on Aug. 7, 2020, police did pursue him. Meyer led officers on a high-speed chase from Lower Price Hill, through Downtown, across the Roebling Suspension Bridge, through Covington and into Newport, where the crash happened. Meyer's crimes led to parallel prosecutions in state and federal court. On Thursday, June 5, in federal court in Cincinnati, Meyer became the last of 16 defendants to be sentenced for massive drug and gun conspiracies, officials said. One co-defendant, Ryan Haskamp, who was described as a major drug supplier locally, was sentenced in February to 27 years in prison. Meyer provided Haskamp with guns in exchange for drugs, prosecutors said. In the investigation, law enforcement seized 11 guns, and hundreds of pounds of drugs, including more than one kilo of methamphetamine, more than 200 pounds of the psychedelic drug DMT, more than five kilos of marijuana and 15 kilos of hashish and hashish oil. Nineteen thousand doses of LSD as well as fentanyl, cocaine, ecstasy and other drugs were seized. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Man serving life for fatal Newport crash convicted in drug, gun case
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Victims from Miami's restaurant shooting encouraged to seek assistance from Victims Compensation Program
MIAMI, Okla. — Ottawa County District Attorney Doug Pewitt is offering individuals affected by a recent shooting at a Miami restaurant resources through the state's Crime Victims Compensation Program. 'People who may have been impacted by the May 31 active shooter situation at Mia Bella Italian Kitchen may be eligible for assistance through the Oklahoma Crime Victims Compensation Program,' said Pewitt. The state program covers unreimbursed expenses related to the crime, including medical, dental, and prescription costs, counseling and rehabilitation services, traditional healing, crime scene cleanup, work loss, services replacement, and mileage reimbursement for mental and medical appointments. The alleged shooter, Michael Anthony Cook III, 25, is charged in Ottawa County District Court in Miami with discharging a firearm into a dwelling, felony pointing a firearm, and two counts of shooting with intent to kill. He remains hospitalized after a shootout with Miami police, according to an arrest affidavit. For more information about the Oklahoma Crime Victims Compensation Program, contact (918) 542-5547 and ask for the Crime Victims Advocate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
