Woman gets prison for drug possession, bail jumping

COEUR d’ALENE — A woman who skipped her trial for possessing nearly 3 pounds of heroin received a prison sentence.

Judge Barbara Duggan sentenced 41-year-old Paula L. Riojas on Tuesday to 15 years in prison for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, unlawful possession of a firearm and bail jumping, all felonies.

Riojas will be eligible for parole after five years. The sentence issued by Duggan is what prosecutors recommended.

The charges stem from December 2020, when police arrested Riojas after raiding a Hauser Lake home.

Detectives reportedly located 2.75 pounds of heroin inside the house, which had a street value of about $195,000, as well as methamphetamine, prescription pills, a cash counting machine and three firearms.

The guns and much of the heroin were inside Riojas’ bedroom, police said. Her firearm rights were suspended in 2017, when she was convicted of felony possession of a controlled substance.

Prosecutors said Riojas failed to appear for trial in July 2022 and disappeared for seven months.

In April, Riojas pleaded guilty to the possession charges and to bail jumping.