Montana man sentenced for meth trafficking

COEUR d'ALENE — A Montana man was sentenced Tuesday in First Judicial District Court to a 10-year prison sentence after being convicted of trafficking methamphetamine.

Ralph Edwin Wheeler, 48, will be eligible for parole after three years.

According to a press release, the Idaho State Police initiated a traffic stop of Wheeler’s vehicle on Nov. 8 and searched it after learning there was marijuana inside. Troopers located over one pound of methamphetamine in the trunk. Wheeler admitted he was transporting the substance from Washington to Montana, the release said.

Deputy Prosecutor Sam Stevens recommended a 10-year prison sentence with parole eligibility after three years, and First Judicial District Judge John Mitchell agreed.

Trafficking methamphetamine is a felony punishable by up to life in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of three years.