2 plead guilty to federal methamphetamine trafficking offenses in North Idaho
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (KIFI) - U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced guilty pleas in two methamphetamine trafficking cases in North Idaho Wednesday.
In separate cases before U.S. Magistrate Judge Debora K. Grasham, Gary Glasser and Guillermo Duarte each pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
According to court records, in May 2023, Gary Glasser, 61, of Lewiston, met another individual who provided him with a satchel containing methamphetamine in Nez Perce County. Glasser was subsequently arrested, and a search of his home uncovered indicia of intent to distribute, including a digital scale, several glassine baggies, and multiple ledgers.
In a separate case, in October 2023, Guillermo Duarte, 20, of Yakima, Washington, was in the front passenger seat of a vehicle that was searched by law enforcement in Kootenai County following a positive K-9 alert. Hidden inside of a vacuum cleaner box in the trunk of the vehicle, law enforcement found approximately 6,500 grams of methamphetamine.
Both Glasser and Duarte are scheduled to be sentenced on September 10, 2024, at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene. Glasser and Duarte each face a maximum penalty of twenty years in federal prison and up to a $1 million fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the investigation by the Lewiston Police Department, the Quad Cities Drug Task Force, the Idaho State Police, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their work in the Glasser case, and he applauded the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, the Idaho State Police, the FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration for their efforts in the Duarte case. U.S. Attorney Hurwit also thanked the Nez Perce County Prosecutor’s Office and the Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office for their assistance with these investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Johnson is prosecuting these cases.
