On December 13th, 2017 at 4:00 pm the Chase County Sheriff’s Office executed a High Risk Search Warrant on a residence located at 387 W. Wichita Street Wauneta, NE. The operation is the culmination of a seven month long investigation, conducted by the Chase County Sheriff’s Office, involving the sale and distribution of methamphetamine. It appears from our investigation that methamphetamine was being purchased in Colorado then transported to Chase County. Then it was being sold to a large area of Southwest Nebraska.

During the search of the residence occupied by William Nathan Hale of Wauneta yielded the discovery of approximately 91 grams of methamphetamine with a street value of $9,100.00, drug Paraphernalia, cash, and 43 pounds of silver valued at $11,000.00, all of which has been seized by the Chase County Sheriff’s Office. As a result, Mr. Hale faces charges in Chase County for Distribution of Methamphetamine within 1000 feet of a school, Class 1D Felony, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Class 1C Felony, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Class 1 Misdemeanor. Chase County was assisted with the search by the Perkins County Sheriff’s Office along with their K9 Unit.

Mr. Hale was also arrested during the raid on a Colorado warrant for the following charges: Manslaughter C.R.S.18-3-104, Distribution of a Schedule II Controlled Substance C.R.S 18-18-405, Possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance C.R.S 18-18-403.5, Unlawful Use of a Controlled Substance C.R.S 18-18-404, and Special Offender-Importation C.R.S 18-18-407. His Bond for the Colorado charges is set at $500,000.00 cash, the Chase County Bond has not been set at this time.

The investigation by the Chase County Sheriff’s Office was initiated by a parallel investigation carried out by the Arvada Colorado Police Department. On June 5th, 2017 Detectives from Arvada along with the Chase County Sheriff’s Office conducted an interview with Mr. Hale. The investigation by the Colorado Authorities stems from Mr. Hale’s involvement in the death of 25 year old Natasha Rowley, which occurred on June 2nd in Arvada Colorado earlier this year. Natasha was a former resident and High School Graduate of Imperial, NE. She was found dead in her Arvada residence as the result of an apparent drug overdose. The Chase County Sheriff’s Office hopes with the arrest of Mr. Hale will bring some closure and understanding to the family in the death of Natasha.

The Chase County Sheriff’s Office and Arvada Police Department Detectives assisted each other during this lengthily investigation into our Drug Trafficking case and their Manslaughter Investigation. It’s important for people to understand that these types of cases move slowly and take many hours of manpower to investigate. With us being a smaller agency makes it even more difficult to work because of the limited resources. The lack of having our own investigator means the deputies have to do their normal duties along with the investigations. So it may appear that we are not doing anything but behind the scenes we are actively doing what we can with the drug problem we have in Chase County. I would encourage anybody to call us with any information they have because that little piece of information may be just what we need to complete the puzzle.

This release provided courtesy of the Chase County Sheriff's Office.