River Falls pair jailed, charged in 'controlled meth buy'

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Last week Monday morning, River Falls police and an officer from the St. Croix Valley Drug Task force arrested two local people they say tried to sell methamphetamine in a trailer home in Cudd’s Court, 1450 S. Wasson Lane.

Michelle A. Driscoll, 28, 1005 Sunset Lane, and Michael D. Borowick, 27, 618 Clark St. #2, were both charged by the Pierce County district attorney with delivery of meth felonies.

Both will have a preliminary court hearing at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15.

The criminal complaint says Driscoll is pregnant and has two young children. Borowick is wanted for extradition on a felony drug possession warrant in Isanti County, Minn.

Meth -- also called speed, ice, chalk or crystal glass -- is a highly addictive stimulant affecting the nervous system.

It can cause sleeplessness, increased wakefulness and physical activity. The drug is smoked, injected, snorted or taken orally.

The rush and high from the drug can cause the release of high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine into areas of the brain regulating pleasurable feelings.

Long-term meth use leads to addiction and compulsive drug seeking and use. Addicts have symptoms such as violent behavior, anxiety, confusion, insomnia, paranoia, mood disturbances, auditory hallucinations and delusions.

The Feb. 6 meth deal was set to take place before noon in a three-bedroom mobile home on the north side of Cudd’s court. The amount of meth involved was small, less than half a gram.

An officer electronically monitored the “buy/bust” deal from one of the bedrooms. The trailer home had been wired for the staged transaction.

Driscoll and Borowick arrived together after being phoned that the deal was ready to go.

According to the criminal complaint, when the officer stepped out into the living room and announced, “Police, put your hands up,” Driscoll mouthed, “You are dead” to the undercover meth buyer.

Borowick didn’t obey the police commands at first. After they were repeated several times, he complied.

Law enforcement officers claim they recovered a pipe that Driscoll tossed away before her arrest and small gem bag that had the meth.

Officers say they also recovered $4,000 in cash, a BB gun and drug paraphernalia from Borowick’s parked vehicle outside the trailer.

The complaint says Borowick got the money by cashing his wife’s retirement account check. She was at a nearby hospital having surgery.

The wife said she had recently lost her job in the Hennepin County Sheriff’s office, in part, because of her husband’s criminal activity. She said Borowick only had permission to cash her check.

Driscoll told police she was addicted to meth, quit for eight years, but recently started smoking the drug again, especially after dropping off her kids at school. She hoped that being pregnant would get her to stop.

However, because of issues with a relative, Driscoll said she was planning to have an abortion. The drug deal was to help finance the procedure.

Driscoll was taken to a hospital and then to county jail in Ellsworth. St. Croix County Human Services was contacted to check on Driscoll and her family situation.

Borowick claimed to have no idea there was to be a meth deal at the trailer. He said he was there to return a cellphone he’d found in St. Paul that belonged to the owner of that particular trailer.

Borowick said he and Driscoll are acquaintances and he’s a meth user. He said the two had met at a local Kwik Trip before going to the trailer home.

Borowick had the cellphone in question in his vehicle. He left it there when he went inside the trailer with Driscoll. The complaint said he made no effort to stop the meth transaction.

Like Driscoll, Borowick was taken to county jail. A 17-year-old male relative who lives with Borowick was found outside the trailer. He was detained briefly, brought to the police station for questioning and released.

The meth delivery felony carries a maximum penalty of a $25,000 fine, 12 years and six months in prison, and suspension of driving privileges for up to five years.

A Pierce County Sheriff’s investigator also worked on the case. Investigator John Wilson headed up the lead effort take by the River Falls police.

Phil Pfuehler is editor for the River Falls Journal.

Tags: crime and courts, news, crime, courts