Stolen prescription drugs found

About $18,500 worth of stolen painkillers was recovered in the woods Thursday near Columbia Falls.

The drugs were reportedly stolen during a Feb. 23 burglary at Haines Medical Pharmacy on Baker Avenue in Whitefish. Whitefish police quickly arrested Devlin Howard, 23, of Columbia Falls.

Some 2,620 tablets of Lortab were found Thursday in a wooded area north of Columbia Falls. The recovery caps a long and interesting investigation by the Whitefish Police Department.

Detective Sgt. Roger Bergstrom said police had a tip that Howard was going to break into a drug store on Feb. 23.

At about that time, police took a 911 call about a fight involving a lot of people at a remote location. Officers started driving that direction, but Sgt. Bridger Kelch was suspicious about the fight report and decided to go back and check on the pharmacies in town, Bergstrom said.

When Kelch was about a mile and a half away, Howard broke into Haines, Bergstrom said.

"He brought his own heavy-duty cement brick" to break a window, Bergstrom said. Howard jumped through the window, scooped a small fortune in Lortab pills into a nylon carrying case and was "out the door in less than one minute," Bergstrom said.

However, two or three witnesses saw Howard running from the business.

Officers from Whitefish and Columbia Falls checked Howard's home and watched family members' homes. Howard reportedly stopped at his former mother-in-law's home, but she ordered him to leave.

Eventually, Howard was arrested a block and a half away from the Columbia Falls Police Department.

He had 20 Lortab pills in his pocket, Bergstrom said. The rest couldn't be found.

Bergstrom said Howard told him that he had dumped the pills, their containers, and the carrying case in the river from a bridge.

But Bergstrom was skeptical.

"If he had a serious addiction to prescription drugs, I doubt he'd feed the fish with them," Bergstrom said.

Eventually, Howard told him another story, Bergstrom said, and even provided him with a treasure map. It led to a location north of the railroad tracks in Columbia Falls. A bright green bag was found on the ground in an area that is heavily used by teenagers, Bergstrom said.

Just about all of the pills stolen from Haines were recovered, he said.

Howard's troubles were compounded then.

His family was trying to help police find the missing pills. Instead, components of a methamphetamine lab were discovered in the back seat of one of Howard's vehicles on a relative's property. More charges may be coming, Bergstrom said.

Howard is currently jailed in lieu of $20,000 bond on the burglary.

Bergstrom said the drugs will be returned to Haines. He doesn't know if they can still be used.

Reporter Chery Sabol may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at csabol@dailyinterlake.com