Idaho Falls Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking

POCATELLO –  Michael William Martindale, 27, of Ammon, Idaho, pleaded guilty today to possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.  Martindale was indicted by a federal grand Jury in Pocatello 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’s drug trafficking charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $1,000,000, and at least three years, up to life, of supervised release.

Sentencing is set for December 14, 2016, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

The case was 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.