Drug raid ends with three arrests
News editor
SANDPOINT — A pre-dawn raid on a Sandpoint Home Saturday turned up marijuana and a suspected methamphetamine lab, according to the Sundance Drug Task Force.
Three people were arrested at the home, located at 1818 Hickory Street. The home is situated a block from Farmin Stidwell Elementary.
Task force agents descended on the home at about 3:30 a.m. Arrested were Sonka Ann Elicerio, Danny Ray Faulkner and Nickolas Lee Renick.
Elicerio, 41, is charged with trafficking methamphetamine by attempted manufacture and possession of meth. Faulkner, 47, is charged with meth possession, and Renick, 18, is charged with possession of pot with intent to deliver.
Judge Debra Heise set $50,000 bail for each of the suspects on Monday. Hearings to determine if enough evidence exists to try the trio on the felony charges are pending in magistrate court.
Sandpoint Police responded to the home after receiving a report there was suspicious activity involving a white vehicle, according to the arrest report. After one 16-year-old was arrested on a curfew violation, other teens told police Renick was selling pot out of the home.
Officers obtained a search warrant and a team to raid the home was mobilized. One agent armed himself with a rifle because of a report that Renick was armed. A second agent was packing a stun gun in case a large dog Renick owned became aggressive, court records indicate.
When agents announced their presence from the doorstep, the door opened and Renick's dog issued from it. The animal was subdued with the Tazer, and agents kicked in the front door.
Renick, the arrest report said, was found hiding in his bedroom. More than $1,100 was found in his pocket, though Renick told agents he earned the money by working for his uncle.
Inside the bedroom, agents reported finding a 12-gauge riot shotgun, and a gallon-sized Ziploc bag containing 2.86 ounces of pot. Renick denied being a drug dealer and protested the search.
Agents then moved to the bedroom belonging to Elicerio, who is Renick's mother. There they allegedly found an assortment of syringes and other drug paraphernalia. Faulkner was allegedly staying in the same room as Renick.
A search of the kitchen uncovered a gallon jug of acetone, lye, plastic sandwich bags, all of which agents suspect were used to cook and package the drug. More components of a clandestine lab were reportedly found in a garage.
The Sandpoint Fire Department's hazardous materials detachment were called to process the lab, agents said.