Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine

January 21, 2010 - Paul Hartman, 44, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, was sentenced last Friday by Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill to 188 months in federal prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, the United States Attorney’s Office announced. During sentencing, the Court found overwhelming evidence that the conspiracy involved, at times, at least five kilograms of methamphetamine.

The investigation began after a traffic stop by a Kootenai County deputy. During his guilty plea in September 2009, Hartman admitted that he traveled to Spokane to purchase methamphetamine and at times, methamphetamine was brought to him in Idaho. He then sold it for a profit and would broker deals between various distributors and sellers.

U.S. Attorney Tom Moss praised the cooperative work of the DEA and North Idaho Violent Crimes Task Force which consists of officers from the Coeur d’Alene Police Department, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department, Idaho State Patrol, Shoshone County Sheriff’s Department, Post Falls Police Department, and FBI. “The efforts of the North Idaho Violent Crimes Task Force has taken a very prolific drug dealer off the streets of Coeur d’Alene.”