Kalispell man charged in drug case

By CHERY SABOL

The Daily Inter Lake

A Kalispell man who was acquitted of a rape charge in February was arrested earlier this month in Helena for allegedly distributing cocaine.

Chaz Carraway, 19, is charged with conspiracy to distribute dangerous drugs.

Another youth charged in the drug case, Logan Keys Nicol, also has been charged in Flathead County with extensively damaging a cabin owned by the family of the girl who accused Carraway of rape.

The drug team in Helena seized a pound of cocaine worth $50,000, along with cash and two vehicles, and arrested three men - Carraway, Nicol and Michael Allen of California.

Officials with the Missouri River Drug Task Force said investigators had made several cocaine buys from Nicol, finally ending up with a pound of the drug.

The investigation led to Carraway and Allen outside Missoula.

The case may be moved to federal court. It was investigated by officers in the Helena area and the Northwest Drug Task Force in Flathead County, along with the state Division of Criminal Investigations.

The investigation included "at least two buys in Flathead County," according to drug-team commander Kevin Burns of Flathead County Sheriff's Office.

He said the men are suspected of bringing in "at least several pounds of cocaine per month," to the Flathead Valley.

Cocaine has made a powerful comeback in the drug community, Burns said.

"I'd say cocaine is getting to be the drug of choice," in part because of a statewide anti-methamphetamine campaign that has made a number of cocaine users want "nothing to do with methamphetamine," he said.

A jury earlier this year found Carraway innocent of raping a teenage girl at his house in September 2005.

Days after the verdict, the girl's family's lake cabin was severely damaged.

According to the criminal complaint filed Tuesday against Nicol, 35 windows were broken, a stereo and light fixtures were smashed and the mailbox was destroyed.

Tire tracks at the scene matched Nicol's, according to a report from the state crime lab.

The complaint said that Nicol admitted causing the damage. He said he was near it and called Carraway, who told him to vandalize the cabin.

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