Washington Man Sentenced in Idaho Federal Court for Distributing Meth

COEUR D’ALENE—Severiano V. Valle, 49, of Royal City, Washington, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Coeur d’Alene to 87 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Valle to serve four years of supervised release and pay a $5,000 fine. He pleaded guilty on January 3, 2012.

According to the plea agreement, Valle was stopped by the Kootenai County Interdiction Team on February 8, 2011. A dog specially trained to detect the presence of drugs alerted law enforcement to 449 grams of methamphetamine in the trunk of Valle’s vehicle. Valle admitted that he was taking the methamphetamine to another person.

The case was investigated by the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office and the North Idaho Violent Crime Task Force (NIVCTF). NIVCTF members include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Idaho State Police, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office, Bonner County Sheriff’s Office, Coeur d’Alene Police Department, Post Falls Police Department, and the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police Department. The NIVCTF investigates a myriad of violent crimes, including armed robbery, kidnapping, felonious assault, and drug trafficking.