Two Pocatello Men Plead Guilty in Spice Case

POCATELLO – John D. Heim, 40, of Pocatello, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to a superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy to launder money, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Heim’s co-defendant, William Ray Carringer, 23, also of Pocatello, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

According to the plea agreement, between March 1 and September 14, 2013, Heim owned and operated Heim, Inc., a business engaged in the sale of “spice,” a smokeable material containing a Schedule I controlled substance analogue. Heim admitted that he, along with other individuals, engaged in monetary transactions in excess of $10,000 from funds derived from the illegal sale and distribution of spice. Heim admitted the total amount of funds derived from the unlawful activity are $163,534. He faces up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $500,000, and up to five years of supervised release. The government is seeking forfeiture of assets derived from the criminal offenses. As a result of the conviction, Heim will also forfeit to the government property he owns at 354 S. 5th, in Pocatello, and 572 Fort Hall Ave., American Falls, Idaho.

Carringer admitted in court that on May 18, 2012, he attempted to retrieve a FedEx package addressed to him that contained in excess of five pounds of marijuana. According to the plea agreement, Carringer knew the package contained the marijuana and he intended to distribute it to another individual. He faces up to five years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.

Heim and Carringer are scheduled to be sentenced on December 17, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

The case is the result of a joint investigation of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), led by the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Pocatello Police Department, Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, Blackfoot Police Department, and Idaho State Police. Other federal agencies participating in the OCEDTF program include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and U.S. Marshals Service.

The OCDETF program is a federal, multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.