Man found guilty by federal jury after police find drugs in Del Taco bag
Published at | Updated atPOCATELLO — A jury found a 36-year-old man guilty after police found him trying to trafficking drugs and hiding them in a fast food bag.
Jason Lundholm was found guilty Thursday of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver after a four-day trial, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit.
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The jury found Lundholm guilty of both charges after two hours of deliberation. Lundholm is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 13 before Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill. Lundholm faces a maximum penalty of twenty years in federal prison.
Details
On Sept. 26, 2023, an Idaho Falls Police detective reportedly saw a car leaving a “known drug house” around 9:42 a.m, according to court documents. After noticing the car had failed to signal correctly upon pulling away from the curb, the detective notified an officer.
The officer observed the silver Toyota Camry driving south from Science Center Drive on Jefferson Avenue.
According to the officer, the car also had a broken tailight.
After initiating a traffic stop, the officer spoke to the driver and identified one of the two passengers as Lundholm. The officer could\ smell the odor of marijuana coming from the car and asked the passengers to get out and sit on the curb.
The officer reportedly found a Del Taco food bag inside the car behind Lundholm’s seat.
Inside was a “large plastic bag containing a white crystalline substance” and a “small green tube with burnt residue inside,” according to court documents.
Evidence presented during the trial reportedly showed that Lundholm conspired with his co-defendants, Jeremy Wheeler, 49, of Idaho Falls, and Breena Jolley, 44, of Pocatello, who were also in the vehicle, to distribute methamphetamine.
Lundholm was arrested and booked into the Bonneville County Jail with a bond of $20,000.
Wheeler and Jolley previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and are both scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 18 before Judge Winmill.
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the investigation by the Idaho Falls Police Department and the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, which led to the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Paskett is prosecuting the case.