NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 24, 2006

SIXTEEN CHARGED WITH DRUG TRAFFICKING IN LEWISTON-CLARKSTON AREA

Sixteen people have been charged in connection with what federal investigators are calling a major methamphetamine trafficking operation in the Lewiston-Clarkston area. Fifteen have been arrested, while one remains a fugitive. Authorities did not release the name of the fugitive.

Currently being held in custody are Tony S. Ford, 36, of Culdesac; Coeleen R. Coe, 25, of Clarkston; Tony L. Boyer, 36, of Asotin; Jose Avila Rubio, 26, of Pasco; Lacee L. Jackson, 27, of Lewiston; Rodney J. LaPlant, 38, of Lewiston; Jose Rosalio Jimenez Mendoza, 21, of Kennewick; and Curtis Eugene Nees, 30, residence unknown.

Released on their own recognizance pending trial were Shannon Jackson, 31, of Kamiah; Dustin Rudolph, 29, of Lewiston, also known as Dustin Olsen; Anthony G. Adams, 40, of Lyman, Wyoming; Estevan Juan Mendoza, 26, of Kennewick; Walter John Pate, 40, of Spearfish, South Dakota; Dee Ann Musgrave, 40, of Spokane; and Arnold Wayne Mendenhall, 51, of Kamiah.

Trial has been set for December 4, 2006.

The defendants are charged with conspiring to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine in the Lewiston-Clarkston area and on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation between October 2002 and February 2005.

Law enforcement officials said the investigation is on-going and additional charges are possible.

The investigation was a cooperative effort of the FBI, the Quad Cities Drug Task Force and the Idaho State Police. The Nez Perce Tribal Police assisted in the arrests.

An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity. It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.