Circle- Gerald "Bootsie" Jackson, one of the top law enforcement officials on the Fort Peck Reservation and a tribal housing commissioner, was arrested Friday with to others in McCone County for possession of illegal drugs.
Jackson, director of the Fort Peck Tribes' Fish and Game program, will appear in state District Court in Circle as early as Friday, said McCone County Attorney Kendall Link.
More information about the investigation will be released next week after affidavits are filed and the three suspects appear in court.
Those arrested include Jackson, of Poplar, and Warren "Luke" White Hawk and Paul Scott Isle of Wolf Point, said sources close to the investigation.
On February 13, the three drove into Circle from Brockway and were stopped by the Montana 'Highway Patrol about 13 miles north of Circle on Highway 13.
Officers uncovered "felony amounts" of marijuana and methamphetamine, Link said.
The three were arrested; Jackson and Isle were released; and White Hawk bonded out of jail for $6,000, he said.
The three suspects have been charged with possession of a controlled substance in Justice Court and once the offense reports are complete, they will be charged formally in District Court, Link said.
The investigation is also continuing, he added.
Jackson's immediate supervisor said the officer would be suspended pending further developments. Jackson was placed on sick leave for the time being, tribal officials said.
Friday's incident was not Jackson's first bout with a drug incident. In September 1987, Jackson and three other persons were arrested in Regina, Sask., and charged with possessing narcotics including "magic mushrooms," marijuana, hashish and oil and possession of .....property.
Jackson pleaded innocent in October of that year.
In January, Canadian officials dropped all charges against Jackson because "he was in the wrong place at the wrong time," according to an article in the January 14, 1988 edition of the Wotanin Wowapi.
Jackson, who was employed as a BIA officer at the time, was fired after his arrest because of adverse publicity and misconduct. After the charges were dropped, Jackson appealed the BIA's decision to fire him and he was eventually rehired.
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