KELLOGG – A Montana man is facing felony trafficking charges after a traffic stop led to the seizure of more than 80 grams of methamphetamine. 

According to police records, Brandon Taplin-Jones, 32, of Missoula, was driving eastbound on Interstate 90 when Idaho State Police Trooper Tyler Minkner pulled him over. The vehicle had no license plate or temporary tag. 

After activating his emergency lights, Minkner reported seeing the vehicle’s two occupants “reaching and looking around inside the vehicle, consistent with furtive movement. While the driver was looking around in the vehicle, he swerved in his lane and would quickly adjust back, but would not pull over.” 

Once the vehicle stopped, Minkner said he noticed a faint smell of marijuana and asked if that was what the occupants had been shuffling around. Taplin-Jones said it was. 

During a search of the vehicle and its occupants, Taplin-Jones admitted to having other drugs and paraphernalia inside, including methamphetamine, according to the police affidavit. 

Minkner found approximately 43 grams of meth scattered along the vehicle’s floorboards and another 39 grams hidden inside a “Big Gulp” cup. 

Taplin-Jones also reportedly admitted to dumping the drugs inside the car after Minkner activated his emergency lights. 

In Idaho, trafficking methamphetamine carries mandatory minimum sentences based on the quantity. Trafficking between 28 and 199 grams results in a mandatory three-year prison sentence and a $10,000 fine. 

Taplin-Jones is also charged with one felony count of destruction or concealment of evidence, which carries a potential five-year maximum sentence, along with two misdemeanor drug charges. 

Elizabeth Angel, 54, of Missoula, the passenger, is charged with one felony count of possession of a controlled substance and one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia. 

Both Taplin-Jones and Angel remain in police custody.