LOGAN — A 59-year-old Cornish man has pleaded guilty to multiple drugs and weapons charges. Kelly Naegle was arrested more than two years ago following an investigation by the Cache Rich Drug Task Force.
According to court records, Naegle appeared April 22 in Logan’s 1st District Court. He accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to operation of a clandestine laboratory, a first-degree felony, three counts of possession of a firearm by a restricted person and one count of possession or use of a controlled substance, all third-degree felonies. As part of the agreement, 17 charges were dismissed.
According to prosecutors, law enforcement went to Naegle’s home Feb. 1, 2024, looking for receipts on a shipment of coca tea. They found more than 20 guns, two boxes of chemical beakers and lab equipment with “white powder residue” on them.
Naegle told police they were remnants of an old meth lab he had hidden in boxes “so family would not find them,” according to charging documents.
When Naegle was detained, police say he had two baggies of methamphetamine and a pipe in his pocket, and he admitted to ordering coca tea on the internet.
Naegle thought he was allowed to have the guns, as his past felony charges “were so long ago,” and he just never went through the process of having his prior criminal history expunged, law enforcement reported.
Naegle remains out of jail on $25,000 bail. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 17.