WILLMAR -- A 39-year-old Litchfield man was arraigned Friday on three felony drug charges for allegedly selling suspected methamphetamine to a confidential informant for the CEE-VI Drug Task Force.
Phillip Christian Rice faces two drug sale conspiracy charges and a fifth-degree drug possession charge in Kandiyohi County District Court. Unconditional bail was set at $100,000 with no conditional bail set. His next appearance is July 28.
Rice was arrested Wednesday after CEE-VI agents served a search warrant on the Spicer home where he was living.
According to the complaint, on Wednesday the informant informed a CEE-VI agent that Rice had offered to sell an "eight-ball" of meth for $360. The informant had made arrangements for the buy to happen that day. Agents set up the informant and gave her $400 in task force funds. The informant went to the Spicer residence and later met the agents, handed over the bag of suspected meth and the remaining money.
The drugs had a rough weight of 6 grams, but a field test was inconclusive for methamphetamine. The agents informed the informant of the results of the test, and then the informant called Rice and confronted him with the information, that the drugs were not good. The informant was supposed to return the suspected drugs to Rice the next day.
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However, that evening a number of law enforcement officers served a search warrant on the home and confirmed that Rice was staying there. They recovered drug paraphernalia from several rooms in the house, plus cutting agents, a list of products used to make meth, a propane torch adapted to use to smoke meth and a meth smoking device made of a light bulb that contained meth residue. They also found cocaine in the home. The agents also found a package of white crystalline substance, but it tested negative for methamphetamine.
Rice was interviewed Thursday and denied selling the drugs. He admitted there was marijuana in the home and that he used marijuana, admitted to calling the informant, but then said the informant had "offered" him the money, which was recorded bills from the drug task force.
