Jessica Trottier (FPD photo)
FARGO (KFGO) – Court documents indicate the raid by federal agents on a home in Fargo’s Hawthorne neighborhood last month was part of a months-long investigation into a methamphetamine distribution ring operating out of a number of homes in Fargo. A helicopter hovered over the neighborhood during the September 21 raid, as DEA and Homeland Security agents and Postal Inspections police searched a home.
Ten people are now named as defendants in the case which was filed in U.S. District Court on October 5. All are charged with Distribution of and Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance.
One of the defendants, Jessica Trottier of Fargo, has a long history of drug arrests in North Dakota. Trottier is cited as the primary contact for dealers operating out of California, including Hugo Yanez-Rivera, who was delivering meth to Trottier at multiple addresses in Fargo, in August and September, including at 812 7th St S., the home where the raid took place last month. A car involved in the seizure of a large amount of meth was registered to Yanez-Rivera at that address. The documents indicate text messages between Trottier and Yanez-Rivera were being monitored during that time.
Five other defendants in the case were arrested on the day of the raid: two – Tony Enno and Justin Keplin – were arrested in Belcourt. Michael Haugland was arrested in Devils Lake, and Steven Arias was arrested in Fargo. Three additional arrests have happened in October, including Matthew Wood in Fargo, and Pruenda Macias and Carlos Rodriguez of California, both arrested in Williams County.
The U.S. Attorney’s office says it is unable to comment on the case.
Fargo police chief Dave Zibolski said that the case will have a significant impact on crime and safety in the city.
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