Nampa Man Pleads Guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine

BOISE - Cainen Bleu Johnson, 43, of Nampa, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, Acting United States Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr., announced today.  Johnson was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boise on April 14, 2021.

According to court records, Johnson was pulled over on a routine traffic stop on February 16, 2021.  During the traffic stop Johnson became visibly agitated, refused to give his driver’s license to law enforcement, put his vehicle in drive, and fled the scene.  After a high-speed chase, law enforcement officers were able to safely perform a pursuit intervention technique (PIT) maneuver to stop the vehicle and apprehended Johnson after a brief standoff.  A subsequent search of Johnson’s vehicle uncovered 399.09 grams of methamphetamine that he admitted he intended to distribute to others, along with 5.5 grams of heroin, and 1.3 grams of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Johnson also possessed a digital scale and plastic packaging materials commonly used to weigh and package methamphetamine for distribution.

Johnson faces a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of at least ten years and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release. Sentencing is set for October 5, 2021, before Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye at the federal courthouse in Boise.

Acting U.S. Attorney Gonzalez credited the efforts of the Nampa Police Department which led to the charges. 

This case was prosecuted by the Special Assistant United States Attorney hired by the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office with funds provided by the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program.  HIDTA is part of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.  It provides assistance to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States.  Idaho is part of the Oregon-Idaho HIDTA.  The Idaho HIDTA is a collaboration of local, multi-jurisdictional law enforcement drug task forces, and prosecuting agencies dedicated to addressing regional drug trafficking organizations that operate in Ada, Canyon, Bannock, Kootenai, and Malheur Counties.

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