Man charged with trafficking fentanyl

COEUR d'ALENE — A man accused of trafficking fentanyl is facing felony charges.

Anthony J. Speelman, 58, is charged with trafficking in fentanyl and possession of a controlled substance, both felonies. 

First District Judge Debra Heise ordered that Speelman be held on $100,000 bail. 

The charges stem from Aug. 20, when a police officer who had responded to an unrelated call at Walmart in Post Falls reported observing three individuals exhibiting "signs of possible recent drug use," according to court records. 

The officer followed the trio out of the store and then followed them in a patrol vehicle as they drove away. When the vehicle failed to stop before entering the roadway, the officer initiated a traffic stop, according to court records. 

Police identified the driver as Speelman, who allegedly gave a false name when first contacted. He allegedly told police he did not know the passengers in his vehicle and had just picked them up in Spokane. 

A search of Speelman's vehicle allegedly yielded a digital scale with "drug residue," a plastic bag containing just shy of 7 ounces of fentanyl and a plastic bag containing about 10 ounces of methamphetamine, according to court records. 

Speelman also allegedly had in his pockets more plastic bags containing a "white powdery substance" that police said was fentanyl. 

Testing confirmed the substances were fentanyl and methamphetamine, according to court records. 

One of the passengers, Courtny R. Jacobsen, was booked into jail on charges of possession of methamphetamine, a felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor. 

In Idaho, trafficking between 4 and 14 ounces of fentanyl carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of three years and a fine of at least $10,000.