2 Amtrak passengers arrested on drug charges

Two passengers on their way from Spokane, Washington, to Williston, North Dakota, were arrested Tuesday in Havre after Amtrak employees reported they saw a man get off the train in Whitefish and smoke what they believed was marijuana.

Seth Mimm and Shayden Salvesen were arrested and are being held on separate but identical complaints of two felony counts of criminal possession with intent to distribute, two felony counts of criminal possession of dangerous drugs, one felony count of use or possession of property subject to criminal forfeiture, a misdemeanor count of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor count of carrying firearms on a train and a misdemeanor count of carrying drugs on a train.

Tri-Agency Task Force and U.S. Border Patrol agents were notified that Amtrak employees noticed a passenger, later identified as Mimm, smoking marijuana during a scheduled stop in Whitefish, a court document says. Employees suspected that Mimm had drugs because of the way he was handling his luggage.

The Task Force and Border Patrol partnered with Havre Police Department and approached the suspects in their room in the train, the document says. The suspects had to be awakened.

The agents smelled marijuana and asked the men if they had any illegal drugs. Mimm handed the task force agent a clear container with four grams of marijuana and, after being asked, produced a medical marijuana card from Arizona. Mimm listed a Williston, North Dakota, address as his residence, and the task force agent noted that in Arizona, people have to be a resident of the state to obtain a medical marijuana card.

While Mimm and Salvesen were interviewed separately, it became apparent that both men were claiming the same two pieces of luggage and denying the two others. The agents searched one of the bags the men claimed and found two glass hash pipes, the document says. Both men denied ownership of the pipes.

Mimm and Salvesen were arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia.

After obtaining search warrants, all the baggage associated with the men was collected and searched. Everything combined, the agents found 335 grams of marijuana, 114 grams of hash, $11,440 in cash — believed by authorities to be profits from illegally selling drugs — hash pipes, a Taurus .38 special revolver, and .38 special revolver ammunition, the document says.

Mimm and Salvesen are being held at the Hill County Detention Center on $100,000 bond each.