Man sentenced for trafficking drugs

Rodney Harrell, 47, of Doris, Calif., was sentenced May 10 to serve up to life in prison for trafficking methamphetamine in excess of 200 grams, trafficking marijuana in excess of one pound, and being a habitual offender.

Harrell was sentenced by District Judge John Berecz.

Berecz ordered that the first 10 years of the trafficking methamphetamine charge would be fixed, and the remaining years of the life sentence would be indeterminate, with credit for time served, according to a press release from the Kootenai County Prosecutor's Office.

Judge John Mitchell also sentenced Harrell to five years fixed for the trafficking marijuana offense, to run concurrent with the methamphetamine charge.

The charges originated from a traffic stop on May 24, 2020, by Idaho State Police Cpl. Seth Green as the truck in which Harrell was a passenger was eastbound on Interstate 90. After a drug detection dog signaled drugs were in the vehicle, it was searched. Marijuana and over 200 grams of methamphetamine were found.

Harrell was convicted after a three-day trial in March.

Harrell’s criminal history includes numerous felony and misdemeanor convictions, and two prison sentences.