A 41-year-old Lewiston man was arrested on charges of trafficking meth and heroin, and injury to a child after allegedly having drugs in his vehicle with his 3-year-old daughter.
Michael Lansdowne was charged with the three felonies following a traffic stop by Lewiston police Monday evening in the 2200 block of Third Avenue North in Lewiston. His daughter was in the vehicle with him during the traffic stop, according to a news release from the Lewiston Police Department.
Lansdowne was the focus of a long-term investigation by Lewiston police and the FBI’s North Idaho Violent Crimes Task Force and the Quad Cities Drug Task Force with assistance from the Idaho State Police, according to the police news release. Lewiston police narcotics detectives began an investigation into Lansdowne, who was suspected of bringing illegal substances into the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley. Lewiston detectives conducted surveillance on Lansdowne’s residence and spoke with confidential sources about alleged illegal drug activity. Detectives were granted a search warrant to place a GPS tracker on his vehicle in February, according to a news release from the Nez Perce County Prosecutor’s Office.
Detectives allegedly saw his vehicle travel from Moses Lake, Wash., stay at a residence for one-and-a-half hours and then travel back to the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley. When the vehicle returned to Lewiston, a Lewiston police officer stopped the vehicle and began speaking with Lansdowne about illegal drug activity and he allegedly admitted to having methamphetamine at his residence, according to the release from the prosecutor’s office.
Lewiston police detectives applied for a search warrant for his vehicle, person and home in the 2900 block of Garfield Court in Lewiston. During the search detectives found about two pounds of methamphetamine and 12 grams of heroin in the trunk of the vehicle and a search of the home found 18 grams of heroin and two firearms. Lansdowne was taken into custody to the Nez Perce County Jail, according to the news releases.
Lansdowne appeared before Magistrate Judge Sunil Ramalingam on Tuesday and was granted an $80,000 bond. His criminal history includes assault, delivery and possession of a controlled substance, all felonies, and misdemeanor domestic battery charges as well as probation violations, which the prosecution used to argue for the bond, according to the release from the prosecutor’s office.
“The Prosecutor’s Office also believes the inherent risk of drugs into our community is a risk to public safety and Mr. Lansdowne had his 3 year old child while allegedly trafficking a large amount of drugs,” the news release from the prosecutor’s office states.
