DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
District of Idaho

For Immediate Release

Thursday, September 20, 2018
Bart M. Davis
, United States Attorney
Contact: Cassie Fulghum

Rockland Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Trafficking Charge

Interagency Investigation Led to Seizure of Approximately 356 Grams of Methamphetamine

POCATELLO – Norman Hyrum Turnbeaugh, 62, of Rockland, Idaho, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, announced U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis.  Turnbeaugh was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pocatello on March 27, 2018.

According to court records, investigators from Power County Sheriff’s Office, Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, Rexburg Police Department, and other cooperating agencies served a search warrant on Turnbeaugh’s home in Rockland on July 11, 2017.  During the search of Turnbeaugh’s garage, investigators found approximately 356 grams of methamphetamine, packaged in eleven small bags.  Turnbeaugh had stashed the methamphetamine in a barrel of chicken feed.  Investigators also found approximately 2.6 pounds of marijuana in Turnbeaugh’s bedroom, as well as guns in the house and garage.

The charge of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine is punishable by up to 40 years in prison, a $5,000,000 fine, and at least four years of federal supervised release after incarceration.

Turnbeaugh’s sentencing is set for December 4, 2018 before Chief U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

This case was investigated through the combined efforts of the Power County Sheriff’s Office, the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, the Rexburg Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Power County Prosecutor’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Eastern Idaho Partnership (EIP).  The EIP is a collaborative effort among local communities, law enforcement, the State of Idaho, and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho.  The partners combine efforts to fund and support a Special Assistant United States Attorney, or “SAUSA.”  The SAUSA, Bryan Wheat, works with local prosecutors and law enforcement to prosecute serious local crimes in federal court.  The Partnership focuses its efforts on regional drug trafficking, gun and gang violence, internet based crimes against children, and other serious crimes with a federal nexus that affect the southeast Idaho region.

"I'm grateful for the agencies and law enforcement officers who have helped out in this case," said Power County Prosecutor Anson Call.  “Power County has been well served by the teamwork from our Eastern Idaho Partners.  We are excited to continue to be a part of the Partnership's collaborative effort to target serious crime in eastern Idaho, and to make Power County a safer place."

“This case is another great example of the teamwork of the Eastern Idaho Partnership," said U.S. Attorney Bart Davis.  “We are very happy to have such a close relationship with our local partners.  Efforts like this one help make our communities safer.”

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