Silver Valley man arrested for meth possession while mulling plea offer

KELLOGG — Jamie Rowe will have his day in court and then another day in court after being arrested on Wednesday evening.

Rowe had appeared before Judge Scott Wayman via Zoom call on Wednesday morning as part of a routine law day for Shoshone County.

Rowe, a repeat offender, had a pre-trial conference for charges of trafficking heroin, possession of drug paraphernalia, and bond revocation which stemmed from an incident in May of 2020 where he was arrested for being under the influence of drugs in his vehicle while being in possession of trafficking levels of heroin.

After previously pleading not-guilty to the charges, Rowe’s attorney Chris Schwartz announced that he had sent Rowe paperwork regarding a global resolution from the state concerning all of his charges, including a separate charge from a different incident, but hadn’t received word back from him.

When asked about the deal by Wayman, Rowe told the court, “I’m still kind of iffy on the plea agreement, your honor.”

Rowe had a jury trial scheduled for April 13, but with the admission of reluctance, Judge Wayman decided to vacate the impending trial to allow him time to review the offer that had been extended to him with his attorney.

Citing items like assembling a jury panel, gathering witnesses, and other legalities, Wayman explained why it was important for Rowe to make his decision to either accept the deal or move forward with his trial.

The decision was then made by Wayman to give Rowe until April 7- the date he was originally scheduled for a status conference prior to his trial.

Later in the evening on March 17 however, Rowe was once again taken into the custody of the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office when a deputy performed a traffic stop on his vehicle in the Bunker Avenue area of Kellogg near the base of Silver Mountain.

According to the SCSO Undersheriff Holly Lindsey, Rowe attempted to put some distance between himself and the deputy after the stop was initiated. Rowe then pulled into the parking lot of the FairBridge Inn and Suites Hotel and quickly got out of his vehicle before the deputy asked him to return, which he did after a bit of arguing.

During the stop, a young couple who were jogging nearby with their infant son in a stroller approached the deputy and reported seeing Rowe "fling" something out of his window before they all parked at the hotel.

After recovering the item, the substance discovered tested presumptive positive for methamphetamine.

Rowe was then arrested and was charged with possession of a schedule II controlled substance, as well as destruction of evidence.

Undersheriff Lindsey said, "while it's unfortunate we dealt with Jamie Rowe on drug charges the same day he appeared at law day, it serves as a good reminder that if you continue to violate the law, SCSO deputies will continue to ensure you're held accountable."