Havre couple charged in marijuana-growing case

A Havre couple have been charged with growing marijuana in their home.

Jerry Flint Hughes, 38, was charged Friday in state District Court with one felony count of criminal production or manufacture of dangerous drugs and one misdemeanor count of criminal possession of drug paraphernalia. Charlotte Gruen, 42, is charged with the same offenses. Court documents said she has been living with him for several months.

Hughes has been a part-time janitor at the Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line since June, club director Robin Morris said Tuesday. He has been suspended pending the outcome of the charges, she said.

Morris said Hughes passed a criminal background check before he was hired.

"We're very proud of the fact that we followed our policies," she said. "A background check was performed, and it came up clean. We are about safety for the kids. That is our No. 1 priority, and will continue to be our No. 1 priority."

Morris also said that Hughes was never present at the club when club members were there.

The charges stem from the pair's Nov. 1 arrest. According to the charging document, Havre police responded to Hughes' home in the 2000 block of First Street after receiving a report of a domestic disturbance. Hughes and Gruen told police they had been fighting for control of "a little black phone number book," according to the charging document.

Police saw potting soil and pots inside the house and asked Hughes about them, the document said. Hughes told police Gruen used them to grow catnip, which she smoked to alleviate chronic pain, according to the charging document.

Police searched the house and found three marijuana plants, including one hidden beneath a cowboy hat, a bong, and other material associated with smoking marijuana, according to the charging document.

Hughes and Gruen were both released on their own recognizance.