By SHAUN FRIEDRICHSEN, News Director
Alliance Times-Herald 

After a traffic stop for speeding led to a felony drug charge for possessing methamphetamine, Rose Siefke is facing a new felony drug charge as another case in District Court is in process.

The latest case for Siefke arises from an incident on Jan. 13. According to the Affidavit for Custody, a State Trooper was patrolling south on U.S. Highway 385 at 12:50 a.m. The trooper observed a vehicle traveling at approximately 77 miles per hour in a 65 mph zone.

After initiating a traffic stop, the trooper identified the driver of the vehicle as Rose Siefke, 26, of Hemingford. He detected the odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle.

The trooper asked Siefke to step out of the vehicle and he informed her a “probable cause search of the vehicle would be completed due to the odor of marijuana.” Siefke allegedly said she did not give permission to the search, but when asked about illegal items in the vehicle, she “admitted to a baggie and straw being in her purse.”

According to the affidavit, Siefke was placed in handcuffed and detained in the patrol unit. The trooper conducted the search of the vehicle, finding the aforementioned purse and searching it. Inside, he “located a clear plastic baggie with a white powder residue inside, and a clear plastic straw with a small amount of crystalline substance inside.” The trooper recognized the substances as methamphetamine.

Also inside the purse, he located a package of Zig-Zag rolling papers. The trooper continued to search the vehicle locating a ripped grocery bag that had been tied on one side in the center console cup holder. The trooper, recognized this to be a form of drug packaging,” and, after removing it, noticed the package was empty. The items were taken into evidence.

The trooper conducted a field test of the substance found in the straw, which tested positive as methamphetamine. The vehicle was towed from the scene, and Siefke was transported to the Alliance Police Department to be interviewed. At 3:52 a.m., she was remanded to the custody of the Box Butte County Jail.

A preliminary hearing in this case is scheduled in March in Box Butte County Court. She is facing the charges of possession of a controlled substance—methamphetamine, a class 4 felony, possession of drug paraphernalia, an infraction, and speeding 11-15 miles per hour, an infraction. On the felony charge, Siefke faces up to two years in prison if she is found guilty.

In another case under way in District Court, Siefke is charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, a class 1D felony, possession of a controlled substance—methamphetamine, a class 4 felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia, an infraction.

The case arises from an incident in September 2018.  According to the Affidavit for Custody in the case, on Sept. 15, a deputy with the Box Butte County Sheriff’s Office was informed by a witness that Rose Siefke, who is a convicted felon, was allegedly in possession of a firearm.

A search warrant was obtained and on Sept. 17, the deputy executed the search warrant at Siefke’s residence in the 5100 mile of Perkins Road. During the search, Siefke was the only individual inside the property.

As the deputy conducted the search, he located a black HI-POINT 45 ACP pistol with a fully loaded magazine next to it. The deputy also located and searched Siefke’s purse, in which he located a “black meth pipe with residue, as well as a small yellow plastic baggy containing a white powdery rock assumed to be methamphetamine.”

The deputy arrested Siefke, and a complaint was filed in Box Butte County Court. After a preliminary hearing, the case was bound over to District Court. On the possession of a firearm charge, Siefke faces a maximum of 50 years in prison, with a minimum of three years, if she is found guilty.