Judge declares mistrial in meth lab case

SANDPOINT — A Bonner County jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict Friday in the trial of a Spirit Lake man accused of operating a backwoods methamphetamine lab in Vay.

Senior District Judge James R. Michaud found the jury was “hopelessly deadlocked” after a full day of deliberations and declared a mistrial in James Leland Sawley’s felony drug case.

Deputy Prosecutor Shane Greenbank filed a notice of intent to retry the case on Tuesday, court records show. A pretrial conference in 1st District Court is planned for next week.

The jury’s insurmountable impasse capped a four-day trial.

Sawley, 46, was charged with trafficking meth via manufacturing or attempted manufacturing in October 2008. Acting on an anonymous tip, Bonner County Sheriff’s

narcotics agents found the lab in a recreational vehicle parked in a secluded area in the 700 block of Edgemere Cutoff Road.

Drug agents testified of finding all the ingredients and trappings of a meth lab — ephedrine, red phosphorus and crystallized iodine, in addition to glassware and balloons used to capture toxic fumes.

“It contained every necessary component for the manufacture of meth,” Greenbank said during closing arguments on Thursday.

Although the lab was discovered on property belonging the defendant’s brother, the RV containing the lab belonged to the defendant. Moreover, the lab’s “mother jar,” which was used to collect the fruits of the clandestine chemistry, tested positive for the drug and bore Sawley’s fingerprint, Greenbank told jurors.

But Chief Public Defender Isabella Robertson said during her closing arguments that the RV and other structures on the property were subjected to repeated break-ins, including the home where mason jars were kept.

“The fingerprint could have gotten on that jar any number of ways,” she said.

Robertson also emphasized there was no receipts or store surveillance footage which showed Sawley purchased the ingredients used to brew the meth.

Midway through Friday’s deliberations, jurors asked for a magnifying glass to examine evidence, which included the defendant’s fingerprint card and photographs of the lab.

Michaud said the jury’s use of a magnifying glass would be improper, but did grant jurors’ request to have the testimony of Terry Sawley, the defendant’s brother, replayed.

Terry Sawley, a defense witness, testified to the numerous break-ins and said another brother who has since died had access to the property and was known to use meth. During the state’s cross-examination, Terry Sawley admitted he did not want to see James get in trouble.

Jurors were not advised prior to deliberation that James Sawley’s has a prior  conviction for manufacturing meth in Bonner County in 2000.