Monday, June 17, 2013

Payette Man Sentenced for Possessing Firearms in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking

BOISE – Chadwick Duane Powell, 35, of Payette Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to 75 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Powell to forfeit two firearms and the ammunition he possessed, and to pay $2,670.42 in restitution for the cleanup of hazardous materials related to a methamphetamine laboratory that Powell kept in a shed behind his residence. On March 12, 2013, Powell pleaded guilty to count three of the superseding indictment.

According to the plea agreement, on June 11, 2012, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at a residence in Fruitland, Idaho. Powell was located hiding in a closet in the master bedroom. After retrieving a key from Powell, the officers unlocked a shed behind the residence that housed a small methamphetamine laboratory. The building contained chemicals, ingredients and equipment necessary to manufacture and produce methamphetamine. In Powell’s bedroom, law enforcement located a glass jar containing 41.1 grams of pseudoephedrine. In the shed, officers found a modified Winchester 12 gauge shotgun with a sawed-off barrel and six shotgun shells. According to the plea agreement, Powell admitted he possessed the shotgun in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, including manufacturing methamphetamine and maintaining premises for the purpose of manufacturing methamphetamine. Officers also discovered a loaded FEG 9mm handgun with a single round of 9 millimeter ammunition in Powell’s bedroom. A box of 9 millimeter ammunition containing 29 rounds was located in the garage next to the shed which housed the methamphetamine laboratory.

The case was investigated by Idaho State Police, Fruitland Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.