Man charged with trafficking meth, heroin
KAYE THORNBRUGH | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 5 months AGO
Kaye Thornbrugh is a second-generation Kootenai County resident who has been with the Coeur d’Alene Press for six years. She primarily covers Kootenai County’s government, as well as law enforcement, the legal system and North Idaho College. | April 23, 2021 1:00 AM
COEUR d’ALENE — A Rathdrum man is facing felony charges after a traffic stop.
Derek D. Gregory, 36, is charged with trafficking methamphetamine and trafficking in heroin, both felonies.
Police reportedly stopped Gregory’s vehicle around 9 p.m. Tuesday in Coeur d’Alene because the exhaust system had been altered, making the vehicle louder than normal, in violation of Idaho Code.
Because two passengers in the vehicle had a history of drug offenses, according to court documents, police deployed a K-9.
The K-9 allegedly gave a positive alert, prompting a search of the vehicle.
Police reportedly found a backpack that contained gun parts, as well as a locked metal box. A key found elsewhere in the vehicle opened the box.
The box allegedly contained scorched foil and other paraphernalia. Police said they also found plastic bags with about 5 grams of heroin and about 38 grams of meth inside.
Gregory reportedly said the backpack belonged to someone else, though it contained prescription bottles with his name on them.
Police arrested Gregory at the scene.
Judge Ross Pittman ordered Wednesday that Gregory be held on $15,000 bail.
In Idaho, trafficking between 2 and 7 grams of heroin is a felony punishable by a minimum of three years in prison.
Trafficking between 7 and 28 grams of heroin is punishable by a minimum of 10 years in prison.
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