Husband and wife charged with dealing heroin in Great Falls

A Great Falls husband and wife are accused of dealing illegal drugs and exposing their children to drugs in their home.

Casey Ryan Cooke and Jennifer Rain Cooke each face 11 criminal charges, including criminal possession of dangerous drugs with intent to distribute, two counts of criminal possession of dangerous drugs, use or possession of property subject to criminal forfeiture and endangering the welfare of a child, all felonies, along with six counts of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor.

Both were scheduled to make their initial court appearances on arrest warrants Monday.

Charging documents say Montana Adult Probation and Parole officers checking the residence on Nov. 2 found heroin, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in the couple’s bathroom. The report says Casey showed signs of drug use and was transported to the emergency room as a precaution.

The probation officers called a detective from the Russell Country Drug Task Force to assist with the case, documents say.

Investigators found $2,340 in cash in the bathroom trash can, along with more paraphernalia in other areas of the house, synthetic marijuana known as “spice” and saved text messages indicating both Casey and Jennifer were involved in dealing drugs, according to documents.

The report says Jennifer, 34, told the detective she and Casey were recovering drug addicts and that she had no knowledge that her husband was using or dealing drugs.

The report also says the couple’s 11-year-old child was home during the search, while their 1-year-old child was with a baby-sitter. The older child was removed from the home by the Montana Department of Health and Human Services, documents say, and the children were tested for drug exposure. The younger child tested positive for methamphetamine exposure.

Documents say both Jennifer and Casey were being supervised by a probation officer. Records show Jennifer was convicted of conspiracy for criminal distribution of dangerous drugs in 2014, and Casey was convicted of drug possession twice in 2014.

The report says the couple later told a probation officer that they had been selling heroin. They indicated they wanted to help the task force detective with his investigation, documents say, but they never met with the detective.