Police arrested a Hager City couple after a search of their home turned up drugs and thousands of dollars in stolen checks.

Olivia Suzanne Meerkins, 34, and Calvin Joseph Meerkins, 40, were each ordered to pay $500 cash bond Jan. 8 in Pierce County Circuit Court on felony maintain drug trafficking place, felony possession of methamphetamine, felony possession of narcotic drugs, theft – movable property, possession of THC, possession of cocaine/coca, possess amphetamine/LSD/psilocin, and possess drug paraphernalia charges, all with the “as party to a crime” modifier. If convicted, they each face up to 3.5 years in prison and/or fines up to $10,000.

According to the complaint:

Officers conducted a search warrant at W7696 150^th Ave., Hager City, the Meerkins’ residence on Monday, Jan. 6 at 1:16 p.m. The warrant was for forged/stolen checks and US currency stolen from a local man. Police knocked on the door; no one answered so they forced their way inside. They found the couple hiding in a basement area, detained them and began their search.

In the basement they located a room that held a desk, paper shredder, and photo copier containing eight checks stolen from a Hager City address, signed by the victims. Each check was written out for $19,000. They also located three envelopes with the victim’s return address labels on them. None of the envelopes had a postmark. The victims told police they had written a total of 16 checks and mailed them from their mailbox in front of their house.

While inside the house, police saw drug paraphernalia in plain view in the master bedroom and in the basement. Police obtained a second search warrant for illegal narcotics and began that search.

During an interview, Olivia Meerkins repeated that she was “new to the game” and naïve and didn’t know much about how the drugs got there. She said someone had dropped them off over the weekend but she didn’t know who. She admitted to being a cocaine and meth user and told officers that people come over to their house frequently to use both. She said dancers from a Hager City strip club come over and she snorts lines of cocaine with them before their shifts.

Olivia Meerkins told police she didn’t know anything about the stolen checks in the house and that the only time she had tried to cash one was an incident in Prescott where she was arrested a few days prior. She said her husband gave her the check and drove her to the bank.

From the house, police confiscated 18 dosage units of LSD, 0.5 grams of cocaine, three meth pills, marijuana wax and gummies, amphetamine pills, multiple paraphernalia items used to ingest or inhale illegal narcotics, multiple needles and smoking devices, and more stolen checks from other victims.

Both Meerkins were transported to Pierce County Jail without incident.

Olivia Meerkins is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing at 11:30 a.m. March 4. She is also facing a felony misappropriate ID info – obtain money and receiving or concealing stolen property (as party to a crime) charges in a separate case involving her attempt to cash a stolen check at Prescott’s WESTconsin Credit Union. Calvin Meerkins next court appearance is set for 1:15 p.m. Feb. 12.