Montana quartet faces multiple trafficking charges

OSBURN –– Deputies with the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office seized trafficking amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine during a stop on Thursday night.  

Derrick Fleming, 46, Sylvia Spencer, 35, Dawn Thurman, 56, and Ryan Shumaker, 41, were arrested after police discovered a reported over 500 fentanyl pills, 30.5 grams of methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia in their vehicle.  

According to the probable cause affidavit, law enforcement in Shoshone County had been alerted to a red passenger vehicle that was driving erratically. A stop was initiated on the eastbound Interstate 90 off-ramp in Osburn, near milepost 57.

Reportedly, after interviewing each passenger, one of them admitted to there being marijuana in the vehicle – Police utilized K-9 Deputy Lulu to assist in a further search of the vehicle where she alerted law enforcement to drugs being hidden in compartments inside the driver’s seat and trunk.  

According to the police, Spencer told them that they were returning home to Montana from a funeral in Spokane and had no idea that there were any illegal drugs in the vehicle. Shumaker admitted to knowing there was a small amount of meth in the vehicle, but that it belonged to Fleming. Fleming reportedly told law enforcement that Thurman was solely responsible for the drugs and that he, Shumaker, and Spencer had simply “tagged along.”  

According to the PCA, as they were being booked into Shoshone County Jail, Fleming admitted to having a bag with three fentanyl pills in his underwear, but during their routine pre-booking search it was discovered he also had a bag with methamphetamine hidden inside his anal cavity.  

All four have been charged with trafficking in fentanyl, trafficking in methamphetamine, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Fleming was additionally charged with attempting to convey contraband into a correctional facility.  

The fentanyl trafficking charge comes with a mandatory minimum of 10 years in state prison and a minimum $25,000 fine but is punishable by up to life imprisonment.  

This comes on the heels of new legislation in Idaho that went into effect in July of this year. Specifically, House Bill 406, which created mandatory minimum prison sentences for fentanyl crimes. 

Each meth trafficking charge carries a minimum sentence of three years in prison and $10,000 in fines but is punishable by up to life imprisonment. 

All four appeared before Judge Keisha Oxendine on Friday, who set their bond amounts – As of Monday morning, both Spencer and Thurman have bonded out, while Fleming and Shumaker remain in police custody. All four are scheduled for preliminary hearings on December 19.