Two jailed on coke charges

SANDPOINT — Two Bonner County men face felony drug charges after cocaine was discovered in their vehicle during a traffic stop early Tuesday morning.

Jason C. Earnest of Cocolalla and Todd Nolan Jones of Priest River are charged with possession of a controlled substance. Judge Debra Heise set the suspects' bail at $10,000 each during a hearing on Wednesday afternoon.

A Bonner County Sheriff's deputy pulled the vehicle over at Dufort and Otts Basin roads shortly before 3 a.m. because the driver, identified in court records as Jones, failed to dim his headlights when the two vehicles passed each other. The deputy also alleges Jones was drifting left of center, nearly colliding head-on with the patrol vehicle.

Jones, 41, showed signs of impairment and subsequently failed field sobriety tests, according to the arrest report. Jones was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and his blood alcohol was later tested at 0.15, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08.

During a search of the vehicle, a clear plastic device with a glass vial attached to one end and a valve on the other was found beneath the seat Earnest was reportedly sitting in. White powder in the vial tested positive as cocaine.

Earnest, 32, denied the drug-filled device was his, the arrest report said. Jones, however, claimed it belonged to Earnest and said the two had used it together earlier that night at a bar in downtown Sandpoint.