Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office press release:

On 2-24-2014, at approximately 10:45 a.m., the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a trespassing in progress occurring on Spears Avenue, Eureka. A property owner reported he owned a small cabin on Spears Road and a neighbor called the property owner reporting trespassers were on his property. The neighbor said they were entering and exiting his cabin. The neighbor said it was a male and female that was associated with a red 2001 Honda Civic.

When the first deputy arrived in the area he saw the property owner speaking with the two suspects who were seated in the Honda.  The Honda drove away as the marked patrol car approached. The deputy saw the front and rear license plates of the Honda had blue painters tape covering them as the Honda drove by the deputy. The deputy turned his patrol car around and conducted a traffic stop on the Honda. After the Honda yielded to the deputy, the male driver suddenly jumped from the vehicle as if he were going to flee. The deputy exited his patrol car and grabbed the driver by the wrist at which time a plastic baggie fell out of the bottom of the drivers pant leg onto the ground. The deputy could see the bag contained what appeared to be methamphetamine and heroin. The driver was handcuffed and detained. The deputy spoke with the property owner who told the deputy they were the suspects. The property owner told the deputy the man and woman told him they learned of the cabin from an online ad and thought they could rent it to store items. The property owner told the investigating deputy he did not wish to pursue trespassing charges.

Deputies searched the Honda and located  and seized 21 pounds of processed marijuana in the Honda along with a scale. The methamphetamine was weighed and determined to weigh approximately 1 gram. The heroin was weighed and was approximately 6 grams.

The deputies arrested the driver who was identified as William Duane Hillegeist, 30 years old from McKinleyville. The 26 year old female passenger was detained and released. Both Hillegeist and the female passenger had medical marijuana documentation and claimed the marijuana was for their medical use.  

Hillegeist was arrested for possession and transportation of a controlled substance and was transported and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility. His bail was set at $50,000.00.

The female was released at the scene. The investigating deputy referred possible charges against Hillegiest and the female for possession, and transportation of marijuana to the District Attorney’s Office for review.

Anyone with information for the Sheriff’s Office regarding this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Sheriffs Office at 707-445-7251 or the Sheriffs Office Crime Tip line at 707-268-2539.