Authorities searched an East Fifth Street apartment on Friday afternoon, looking for evidence that one of the occupants was manufacturing methamphetamine.

Court records say Powell police found a makeshift straw with traces of apparent methamphetamine and arrested Cole Mattson, 25, on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance.

Inside an oven, police also found two syringes and a bottle cap with some kind of liquid residue, Powell Police Officer Danny Hite said in an affidavit submitted in support of the possession charge.

Mattson allegedly told Hite he had used the straw to snort meth, but denied that the syringes were his. He said another man must have planted them “to set (Mattson) up,” Hite recounted.

Mattson pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor possession charge on Monday afternoon.

Fifth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Bruce Waters set Mattson’s bond at $5,000 cash. Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Tim Blatt had requested that amount, referencing a prior criminal record that includes a pending burglary charge from 2013.

“We anticipate that additional charges will possibly be filed as a result of this (Friday) incident,” Blatt told the judge.

He said the prosecution also plans to seek the revocation of Mattson’s current signature bond on the older burglary charge.

Hite’s affidavit says the local Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation task force suspected meth was being made in Mattson’s apartment. On two previous occasions, DCI agents had found the remains of what they believe were small, meth-making operations in the trash behind the apartment complex, Hite said. DCI agents believed meth had been manufactured in Matton’s residence a few days before Friday’s search, Hite wrote.

Whether DCI found materials beyond the straw and syringes was not clear on Monday afternoon, as the search warrant had not yet been returned.

A Worland-based Regional Emergency Response Team, which has helped with prior drug searches in Powell, was summoned to make sure the residence was safe for law enforcement on Friday. As part of their safety procedures, the responders donned protective hazardous material suits in their initial sweep of the apartment.

As an additional precaution, Powell police had the children who were heading from Powell Middle School to the Boys and Girls Club walk on the opposite side of the street — though that didn’t stop their curiosity.

“What are they cleaning up?” one of the children called out to Police Lt. Alan Kent.

“Oh, just a mess,” Kent replied.