Ammon man pleads guilty to federal drug charges
An Ammon man faces up to 20 years in prison and a million-dollar fine after pleading guilty Thursday to possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin.
Michael William Martindale, 27, entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Pocatello. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 25, 2015.
According to the plea agreement, Martindale was stopped by Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office personnel on June 19, 2015, pursuant to outstanding warrants. Martindale was arrested for those warrants and for driving without privileges.
When his vehicle was impounded, officers found a sawed-off shotgun, a .38 caliber revolver, baggies of methamphetamine, a balloon containing heroin, a digital scale, oxycodone pills, and other illegal drug paraphernalia.
In court, Martindale admitted to possessing the methamphetamine and heroin with the intent to distribute the substances to others. He also admitted to owning the firearms.
Martindale will be sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill December 14 in Pocatello.
The case was originally investigated by the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The case was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.
