61 Facing Charges In Crime Ring Ongoing Investigation Uncovers 1,200 Drug-Related Offenses

The investigation began six months ago into a thriving methamphetamine ring nicknamed The Circle.

Soon it spanned a potluck of crimes, from forgery to bicycle theft to murder.

Now it’s over, with 61 people facing charges for nearly 1,200 different crimes in Spokane, North Idaho and a handful of other nearby counties.

Still, those 61 people account for only 15 percent of The Circle’s total membership, said the Spokane County sheriff’s officials, who headed the investigation.

Operation Circle demanded too much overtime and stretched resources all over the department, Capt. Don Manning said. He called it off last month.

“We were still developing leads and information right up until the last day,” Manning said. “But we had to close down. We don’t have the resources to sustain it.”

The team of four detectives on the case, including two from the Spokane Police Department, ran up “significant levels” of overtime, Manning said. To take up the slack while they were gone, other officers and deputies also worked extra hours.

More than $150,000 in stolen items, including bikes and stereo sets, were hauled into the property room, overloading workers there as well, he said.

A pile of new leads on new cases were uncovered daily, and were passed on to detectives in the theft, burglary, drug and forgery units. County prosecutors tried to give Operation Circle cases immediate attention and also felt the strain.

“What it revealed to us was the scope of the problems that cluster around the methamphetamine epidemic,” Manning said. “It’s growing faster than we are. We’re not keeping up with it.”

Now that the pressure’s off the case, sheriff’s officials worry The Circle will recover. What makes the group so efficient is its networking system - there are experts in cashing stolen checks, gun suppliers, people who cook the methamphetamine, people who sell it and people who make sure everyone pays their debts.

Richard Morley, 30, didn’t pay.

His body was found in a shallow grave near Eloika Lake earlier this year, a murder that launched Operation Circle. Officials said Morley, who was hit in the head with a hammer, stabbed and strangled, owed money to a Circle member who decided to kill him.

Soon after, detectives realized that methamphetamine fueled the group and was responsible for the increase in other crimes, like car prowlings, burglaries and forged checks.

In The Circle, a single blank check sells for $5, Manning said. Stolen property can be traded easily for methamphetamine, which can be sold for a profit.

“This circle, this sub-culture, it effects everyone,” sheriff’s Lt. David Wiyrick said. “If you’re not a member, you’re a victim.”

, DataTimes