Two arrested after search warrant leads to drug felonies

IDAHO FALLS — Two Idaho Falls locals were arrested on Wednesday after police reportedly found them in possession of illegal drugs.

Kataraina Merica, 28, was charged with two counts of felony possession of a controlled substance, felony destruction of evidence and misdemeanor use or possession of drug paraphernalia.

Shane Strange, 40, was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor use or possession of drug paraphernalia.

Around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Idaho Falls Police, Bonneville County Sheriff’s deputies and Idaho State Police troopers executed a search warrant by stopping a red Mazda 6 at the intersection of Cliff Street and Chamberlain Avenue, driven by Merica.

During a search, officers reportedly found a single blue pill with “M30 stamped on the sides in Merica’s bra.”

Merica admitted to the officers that she had drug paraphernalia in her purse, and officers found a “tooter” described as a “tube commonly used to ingest Fentanyl” and a syringe in her purse, according to court documents.

According to police, Merica “consistently denied” having anything illegal on her person. When officers told her she was going to jail, she admitted she had “more fentanyl and methamphetamine on her person, stuffed down in her underwear.”

She explained that she did this because she saw police were stopping her and knew she was about to be searched due to her probation status.

After retrieving the items from her underwear, police learned that it was three more pills in a bag that were blue and stamped with “M30.” The pills later tested positive for fentanyl.

She also reportedly admitted that she had been using drugs and had just picked up the drugs from a woman at the Fairbridge Inn.

She refused to give the woman’s name or provide a passcode to her phone, which was included in the search warrant, according to court documents.

She then told officers that she had been “faking her urinary analysis tests” for probation check-ins with the Idaho Probation and Parole.

Merica was then taken to the Bonneville County Jail, where she was booked with a bond of $25,000.

After detaining Merica, officers went to a home on the 300 block of Maple Street to continue executing the search warrant. After knocking on the door, Strange answered and was searched.

Officers found a ‘tooter’ in his pants pocket, so he was detained.

Inside the house, officers reportedly found dirty syringes, used glass pipes and bongs, burnt tin foil, digital scales and “containers and trays with residue of drugs in plain view throughout the main living area and master bedroom.”

In the bedroom, on a table next to the bed, an officer reportedly found a “syringe that was loaded with 35 cc/ml of a clear liquid,” which later tested positive for methamphetamine.

Strange was then taken to the Bonneville County Jail and booked with a bond of $15,000.

Both Merica and Strange are expected to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on August 16.

If convicted, Merica could face up to 20 years in prison, and Strange could face up to eight years in prison.

Though Merica and Strange have been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean they committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

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