Court upholds meth conviction

SANDPOINT - Idaho's court of appeals has affirmed a Montana man's conviction on methamphetamine trafficking charges in Bonner County.

Eddy Max Grantham claimed his 2005 trial was so marred by procedural errors and misconduct that the judgment against him should have been reversed, according to court documents.

A jury convicted the Libby man and District Judge Steve Verby subsequently sentenced Grantham to serve three to seven years in state prison.

Grantham, 52, was a passenger in a vehicle stopped for erratic driving on U.S. Highway 95 north of Ponderay on Jan. 13, 2005. The vehicle was searched after driver Shelby Ranay Wilkes gave conflicting statements about the purpose of her trip. Both suspects appeared unkempt and gaunt and both had pock marks or lesions on their faces, court documents say.

During the stop, Deputy Mark Strangio had dispatchers here call authorities in Lincoln County, Mont., for information on Grantham and Wilkes, 25. Dispatch reported back that the pair was suspected of drug activity there.

An ensuing search of the Isuzu pickup uncovered an ounce and a half of the stimulant and intravenous drug paraphernalia, court records indicate.

Wilkes later took a plea deal which converted the trafficking charge to simple possession. She was sentenced to two to four years in prison with a shot at probation after serving six months.

Wilkes also went on to testify against Grantham at his trial.

In his appeal, Grantham argued that the lower court erred by not granting a motion to suppress evidence. He maintained the deputy lacked a reasonable and articulable suspicion that criminal activity was afoot and had merely profiled him as a meth user based on his appearance and that of the truck, which was described as "ratty."

Grantham's home in Libby was also searched and an undisclosed amount of drugs were discovered, although the state and defense agreed to keep that evidence from jurors at trial.

Grantham asserted that a defense motion for a mistrial should have been granted after a Lincoln County detective indicated to jurors that drugs were found in the home. Jurors were instructed to disregard the offending answer and question.

Grantham further argued in the appeal that misconduct was committed when former Deputy Prosecutor Jim Stow asked about marks on the defendant's inner arms when he was cross-examined at trial. Grantham denied they were drug-injection sites.

The appeals court ruled on Oct. 30 that Strangio justifiably stopped the pickup due to suspicion the driver was under the influence and that the deputy's observations during the stop gave rise to the reasonable suspicion needed to expand the scope of the traffic stop.

The appeals court also held that jurors would have reached the same verdict without the challenged testimony of the Montana detective and that Stow's questions about the marks on Grantham's arms were relevant and admissible.

"It is not misconduct to elicit relevant and admissible evidence; therefore there was no prosecutorial misconduct," judges Karen Lansing and Darrel Perry said in the 14-page ruling.