The Michigan State Police and the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office arrested two individuals in a drug raid on March 2.
The Region of Irish Hills Narcotics Office, a branch of the MSP, arrested Scott Mullins and Ann Marie Schultz for trafficking drugs at their residence, according to RHINO Team Commander Lt. Sean Street. Mullins, 53, and Schultz, 35, lived at 1980 S. Sand Lake Road, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Our Emergency Support Team– essentially a SWAT team– did the initial entry onto the premises to clear for any personnel that were on the property,” Street said.
Police found five individuals at the property upon arrival, but only arrested Mullins and Schultz, Street said. Officers found Mullins and Schultz in possession of methamphetamine and two rifles, according to Street.
Street said officials suspect Mullins and Schultz of “buying and selling quantities of methamphetamine.”
“It’s more than a street-level dealer, you’re kind of pushing up to mid-level,” Street said.
Mullins faces six controlled substance charges for possession of a narcotic, court records said. He also faces charges of firearm possession by a felon, ammunition possession by a felon, and a felony firearm, according to court records.
Schultz faces two controlled substance charges for possession of a narcotic, according to court records. Schultz also faces controlled substance charges for delivery or manufacturing meth or ecstasy, delivery or manufacturing 5 to 45 kg of marijuana, operating or maintaining a laboratory, and operating or maintaining a drug house, court records said.
Schultz was arraigned in 2B District Court March 9, according to court records. Mullins is scheduled for a probable cause conference in 2B District Court on March 16.
Officers found crystal meth during the raid, which Street said is mostly manufactured by large drug networks in places like Mexico.
“I have reason to believe that something much bigger exists,” Street said. “It’s pretty safe to say it’s a large network because of the trafficking aspect, as far as getting it from Mexico into the United States, trafficked all the way across, and then to our area.”
The MSP requested help from other agencies to execute the raid, including the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office and Michigan Department of Natural Resources, according to Street.
“The property itself is pretty large for a team of our size to take on by ourselves,” Street said.
HCSO deputies responded to assist the MSP just after 6:30 a.m., according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies offered drone support at the scene, Street said.
“The Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office is always pretty good to us, and provided us with some drone aerial support,” Street said. “They could see an overview as the teams were entering the property.”
Street said DNR officers patrolled property boundaries during the raid.
“Michigan DNR also helped us out with perimeter security as well, with some ATVs they had,” Street said.
Officers observed poor living conditions at the scene, according to Street.
“The living conditions were horrible. There was no running water, no electricity, and there was a lot of debris within several structures of the property,” Street said.
The MSP and Hillsdale County are discussing options to clean up the property, according to Street.
“We’re kind of concerned with the environmental aspect as well,” Street said. “There were a lot of tires being burned on the property, a lot of vehicles that were leaking, a lot of scrap metal.”
The MSP began investigating this case in 2021, according to Street, and officers will continue to follow the evidence.
“We developed some information from some sources, and with some other past information, we developed some probable cause,” Street said. “It’s a big chess game, you’ve got to figure out what’s the best thing to do at the moment for the success of the mission.”
The community is vital to successful investigations, Street said.
“A lot of our investigations start with the community being involved,” Street said. “We need to correspond with them to get information and in turn make it safer for them.”
