Pocatello pair sentencedfor possession of meth with intent to distribute

Two Pocatello residents were sentenced in federal court on Wednesday for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ordered 21-year-old Lataya Anderson to serve 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Judge Winmill also ordered 29-year-old Matthew Toombs to serve 51 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

According to factual statements from the plea agreements, Anderson and Toombs sold 14.31 grams of methamphetamine for $350 to a confidential informant working with police investigators on March 10, 2017.

On April 27, 2017, Anderson and Toombs were arrested by the Idaho State Police in the parking lot of a Maverick gas station in Pocatello.

Anderson was questioned by police officers and was found to have a vial with approximately 3.6 grams of methamphetamine in her pocket.

Police conducted an inventory of the vehicle driven by Anderson and Toombs and located approximately 23.5 grams of methamphetamine, a digital scale with residue, a Phoenix Arms .22 caliber handgun, a drug ledger, approximately 2.8 grams of marijuana, small clean plastic baggies and a glass drug pipe.

The case was investigated through the combined efforts of the Bannock County Prosecutor’s Office, the Idaho State Police and the Eastern Idaho Partnership.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.