Meth, Needles, and Drug Paraphernalia Found in Missoula Truck

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - At approximately 1:08 p.m. on November 15, 2024, a Missoula Police Department Officer was dispatched to the area of Nora St. and Pine St. to assist another officer in a follow-up investigation for a different case. The officers knocked on the window of a truck with a woman, later identified as 37-year-old Ashley Morse, sleeping inside.  

While the officer was knocking on the truck and announcing herself, Morse was reaching under the front seat. The officer could not see exactly what Morse was doing under the seat.  

After Morse exited the truck and began speaking with an officer, the other officer looked into the truck through the windows and observed the capped end of a hypodermic needle and a clear glass pipe with burnt residue. Both items were within Morse's arm’s reach inside the truck. 

This is Not the First Time She Has Been Arrested 

According to court documents, Morse acted oblivious to the items that were right next to her in the vehicle and at one point made a comment that she didn’t understand what drug paraphernalia was, even though records indicated that she had been arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia before.  

Morse stated the truck was not hers and belonged to her friend, “Rob Thompson”, who had let her stay in the truck while he was at work. The officer was not able to confirm this information, and the phone number Morse gave the officer did not work. 

READ MORE: Missoula News - Crime Reports

The officer said Morse was extremely fidgety, uneasy, and argumentative during their interaction. The officer asked Morse if she would give her consent to search the truck, but she refused to answer the question stating it was not her truck. 

The officer seized the truck and it was taken to the Missoula Police Department. The officer applied for two separate search warrants, one for the truck, and one for the wallet, which were both granted.  

The Vehicle is Searched 

The officer executed a warrant search of the truck and found approximately 25 hypodermic needles, 6 alcohol prep pads in a first aid kit, a “snort kit,” 8 saline wash tubes, a glass pipe with burnt residue consistent with methamphetamine use, 4 “tooter” straws, tinfoil with burnt residue, a butane fuel container, an ID card for Robb Thompson, an unknown sticky black substance, an apparent smoking apparatus, and .4g of methamphetamine.  

The officer later determined that the truck was registered to Robb Thompson but that Thompson was listed as deceased.  

Morse was placed under arrest and was transported to the Missoula County Detention Center. She is currently being charged with felony criminal possession of dangerous drugs and criminal possession of drug paraphernalia.  

The information in this article was obtained from sources that are publicly viewable.