Medford woman accused of mailing pot to Wisconsin - News - MailTribune.com - Medford, OR

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Medford woman accused of mailing pot to Wisconsin Tuesday Jan 23, 2018 at 5:27 PM Jan 23, 2018 at 5:52 PM Nick Morgan Mail Tribune @mtcrimebeat A Medford woman faces felony drug charges after police said they caught her at a Wisconsin hotel picking up marijuana packages mailed from Southern Oregon. Heidi Christine Ash, 45, of the 2900 block of Stonebrook Drive, is accused in Eu Claire County, Wisconsin, of possessing with intent to distribute at least 5 pounds of marijuana in a mail scheme allegedly involving tens of thousands of dollars last summer — a scheme for which her Wisconsin co-defendant was sentenced to jail and probation last week. At a Best Western hotel in the city of Eau Claire on Aug. 9, a Wisconsin drug task force allegedly caught Ash picking up two packages containing seven pounds of marijuana, according to local media reports. Ash, who also is listed in Oregon court records under the name Heidi Christine Baker, then took the packages, addressed to a doctor not staying at the hotel and mailed from Medford, back to her room at the hotel. Ash allegedly intended to deliver the packages to a Wade Steven Frederick, 44, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Investigators later caught Frederick with a duffel bag containing $20,000 at the hotel. A search of Frederick's Eau Claire home yielded 23 pounds of marijuana and an additional $46,000. Ash reportedly told police she'd made similar exchanges with Frederick before, and the hotel told police she'd stayed there in March and April, with the two earlier stays both involving a package. Frederick was sentenced Jan. 19 to six months in jail and probation after pleading no-contest to a felony count of possessing more than 10,000 grams of THC with intent to distribute, according to Wisconsin Circuit Court records. While not an admission of guilt, a no-contest plea has the same legal consequences as a guilty plea. Ash faces felony charges of manufacturing and delivering between 2,500 and 10,000 grams of THC, and felony possessing narcotic drugs, along with two misdemeanor controlled substance counts, Wisconsin court records show. Her next court appearance is Jan. 31. Ash was convicted of first-degree burglary in Oregon in 2005. — Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MTCrimeBeat.