Man who skipped bail on pot charge sentenced to a year behind bars

An Oregon man who skipped bail after accepting a plea bargain on a marijuana trafficking charge was sentenced Wednesday in Coeur d’Alene to a year in prison.

Timothy O. Shofner, 29, was charged three years ago with trafficking marijuana after being caught hauling 37 pounds of pot between Oregon and Minnesota.

He told the court he was paid to transport the marijuana, pleaded guilty to possessionn with intent to deliver marijuana as part of a plea agreement that called for a suspended sentence and a $5,000 fine, and then skipped bail.

Shofner was arrested this year in Minnesota and extradited back to Coeur d’Alene, where attorneys wrangled over whether the plea agreement should be honored since the defendant violated its terms.

Trafficking a substantial amount of cannabis calls for a mandatory fixed five-year prison term and $15,000 fine, according to state code.

Attorneys said Shofner moved from Grants Pass, Oregon to work in a casino in Minnesota before being busted on Fourth of July Pass, Feb. 2, 2017, hauling the cannabis in 39 heat-sealed bags in a red Dodge Durango. He did not show up for sentencing but instead returned to Minnesota, where his brother eventually turned him in.

His criminal record consists only of the trafficking charge, attorneys said. Shofner has an eighth grade education and four children, according to court records.

Defense attorneys argued last month that Shofner’s plea agreement should stand, although Shofner had absconded and been on the lam for two years.

Prosecutors on Wednesday agreed to reinstate at least part of the plea bargain. The new agreement calls for Shofner to pay $7,800 and serve one year of a five-year sentence with credit for the 83 days he has already served in local jails.