SANDPOINT — The Idaho Court of Appeals is upholding the conviction and sentence in a Bonner County methamphetamine case, but is invalidating an order requiring the defendant to reimburse costs for his defense.

Zane Eugene Lumpkin was charged in 2018 with felony drug possession with a sentencing enhancement due to prior felony convictions, according to court documents.

Lumpkin pleaded not guilty and the case went to trial. During the proceedings, a Sandpoint Police officer testified that he found a pipe in Lumpkin's pocket containing residue which tested positive for meth. The pipe was also admitted into evidence during the trial.

The pipe was placed in a sealed plastic bag and jurors were instructed by the court not to open the bag to preclude contamination and to prevent jurors from exposing themselves to the residue of the addictive stimulant.

The prosecution, during its rebuttal closing argument, noted that the sealing of the bag indicated the presence of a controlled substance. An Idaho State Police lab also confirmed the presence of meth in the pipe, court records indicate.

Lumpkin was found guilty and ordered to serve a two- to five-year prison term. First District Judge Barbara Buchanan also ordered Lumpkin to pay $500 to repay some of the costs of a Bonner County public defender.

Buchanan said everyone has a right to go to trial, but added that it was a "strange decision" for Lumpkin to avail himself of the proceeding given that he didn't appear to any meritorious defense in the matter, court records state.

On appeal, counsel for Lumpkin argued that the prosecutor's closing statements were improper and that the court abused its discretion by imposing an excessive sentence. Lumpkin also appealed the reimbursement order.

The appeals court, however, upheld Lumpkin's conviction and sentence, but vacated the reimbursement order, according to an unpublished opinion released on Oct. 22.

The appeals court ruled that the sentence, including the persistent violator enhancement, was within statutory limits and not meant to punish Lumpkin for going to trial.

Chief Judge Molly Huskey, however, relieved Lumpkin of having to reimburse defense costs.

"The district court abused its discretion by ordering reimbursement because of Lumpkin's choice to proceed to trial," Huskey wrote in the nine-page opinion.

Appellate judges David Gratton and Jessica Lorello concurred with Huskey's ruling.

Lumpkin, a 40-year-old Coeur d'Alene resident, was released onto probation on Oct. 16, according to the Idaho Department of Correction's website.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com or followed on Twitter @KeithDailyBee