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Two arrested in Manistique drug bust

MANISTIQUE — Two Manistique residents were arrested and arraigned on drug-related charges after an apparent meth lab was discovered in a local residence Tuesday.

At 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30, officers conducted an investigation at 630 Garden Avenue, Manistique and served a search warrant. The search led to the seizure of meth, a suspected working meth lab and the arrest of two adult Manistique residents — Angie Jean Gwaltney, 28, and Michael Jacob Murray, 27. They were immediately lodged at the Schoolcraft County Jail, and children found at the scene were removed from the home and turned over to relatives.

Manistique Public Safety was assisted at the scene by officers from the Michigan State Police Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team in the removal of hazardous materials and the suspected meth lab from the residence. The Manistique Public Safety Fire Division was also at the scene for safety purposes during the clean-up process.

On Wednesday, July 1, Gwaltney and Murray appeared before the 93rd District Court of Schoolcraft County for arraignment on formal charges issued by Schoolcraft County Prosecutor Tim Noble. Gwaltney was charged with a count of controlled substance – delivery/manufacture – meth, a felony punishable by 20 years and/or $25,000; a count of controlled substance – operating/maintaining laboratory involving meth, a felony punishable by 20 years and/or $25,000; and a count of ephedrine/pseudoephedrine – purchase/possess to make meth, a felony punishable by five years and/or $5,000.

Murray was charged with a count of controlled substance — delivery/manufacture — meth, a felony punishable by 20 years and/or $25,000; and a count of controlled substance — operating/maintaining laboratory involving meth, a felony punishable by 20 years and/or $25,000.

Bond for both Gwaltney and Murray was set at $500,000 cash. Their next court dates are yet to be determined.

The arrests were part of ongoing investigations into the use and trafficking of meth in Manistique and Schoolcraft County by Manistique Public Safety, the Public Safety K-9 Unit and the Schoolcraft County 93rd District Court Probation Office. These investigations will continue, and no additional details were being released as of Wednesday.

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