Washington man sentenced for trafficking meth

A Washington man arrested in August for trafficking methamphetamine was sentenced last week to 15 years in prison with parole eligibility after five years.

Rhett “Montana” Duwayne Schow, 61, of Tacoma, Wash., was pulled over Aug. 9 by Kootenai County Sheriff’s deputies as he was traveling along Interstate 90 on his way to Kalispell, Mont. 

After seeing several fentanyl pills in plain view, deputies searched Schow’s vehicle and located approximately one pound of methamphetamine and 150 fentanyl pills. Trafficking in methamphetamine is a felony punishable by up to life in prison and carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of at least three years. 

“The State of Idaho does not currently have a law that outlaws the trafficking of fentanyl,” a press release from the Kootenai County prosecutor’s office stated. 

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Hanners recommended a 20 year prison sentence with parole eligibility after five years. District Judge Susie Jensen sentenced Schow to a 15-year prison sentence with parole eligibility after five years.  

“Prosecuting Attorney Stanley T. Mortensen thanks Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Monica Bushling for prosecuting the case and the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office for investigating the case and removing a significant amount of these deadly drugs off the streets and out of our community,” said the release. “The Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office urges the state Legislature to draft legislation outlawing the trafficking of fentanyl.”