The U.S. Attorney's Office in Spokane is getting mixed results in its continuing prosecution of convenience store owners and wholesalers accused of selling cold pills to methamphetamine cooks.

Even though his prosecutors aren't getting across-the-board convictions, U.S. Attorney Jim McDevitt said Thursday he's happy with the way the cases are evolving.

They debuted with a lot of hoopla one year ago when a Drug Enforcement Administration task force announced the arrests of 16 convenience store owners and wholesalers.

The defendants were accused of illegally selling cases of pseudoephedrine cold pills to purchasers who were using the active ingredient in the illegal production of meth.

"These are difficult cases to prove," McDevitt said. "We must convince the jury that these defendants `knew' or `had reasonable cause to believe' the cold pills were being used for meth production."

A second mistrial was declared this week after a U.S. District Court jury couldn't reach a unanimous verdict in the case against Balraj Singh and Joga Singh Johal.

It was the second time a mistrial has been declared against Balraj Singh, who was charged with conspiracy to distribute pseudoephedrine. He was an employee of Super Food 24 on North Barker in Spokane Valley.

Johal operated JK Gas in northeast Spokane.

McDevitt said prosecutors may not take Balraj Singh to trial a third time.

"Because of the two mistrials, I will look at that one very closely before we decide on a retrial," he said.

Two other defendants, Kenneth John Rash and Todd Jack Porter, were acquitted in mid-April. The businessmen were found not guilty of charges they used their company, Krash Wholesale Distributing, to distribute cold pills to store owners who in turn sold them to meth cooks.

Charges have been dismissed for lack of evidence against defendants Kulwidr Kaur, who operated Express Mart on South Dishman- Mica Road, and Dharamjit Singh Khehra, co-operator of JK Gas.

Manjit Kaur, who operated Sunset Foods in west Spokane, was found guilty in the first trial that ended in a mistrial for Balraj Singh.

Four other defendants pleaded guilty as part of plea bargains to avoid going to trial and facing the prospect of harsher sentences.

Acquittals, mistrials and convictions are to be expected, McDevitt said, even though his office has an overall conviction rate of more than 90 percent.

"We've also had a number of guilty pleas," he said. Additional trials are scheduled next month.

Defense attorney Frank Cikutovich, who successfully defended Balraj Singh, said he questions the way the prosecutions have been handled.

"They've taken six defendants to trial where there's been three mistrials, two acquittals and only one defendant found guilty," the defense attorney said.

"With a 90 percent conviction rate, I think this should raise some concerns," Cikutovich said. "It's a relatively new law and it's obvious there's difficulty in proving these types of cases."

"It also is interesting that all of the market owners are of the same religion and background - Punjab Indians who are Sikhs," Cikutovich said.

"It's not reasonable to believe the manufacturers of these pills are not aware of what these pills are being used for, but they're not on trial," the defense attorney said.

But McDevitt said he believes the high-profile prosecution has been successful in reducing, at least temporarily, the amount of meth on the streets.

"I'm told the amount of pseudoephedrine available is down considerably in the area," he said. "Whether it will stay down, who knows?"

"The meth trade, as destructive as it is, is big business," the U.S. attorney said. "When we knock out one source of supply, those with criminal intent find other opportunities."

McDevitt said he believes the prosecutions are working as a deterrent to further illegal sales of cold pills.

"There better not be a convenience store owner or operator in Eastern Washington that doesn't know that selling pseudoephedrine by the case is flat-out illegal," he said.

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