Newport men held on felony drug charges

SANDPOINT - A routine traffic stop in Oldtown turned into a felony drug bust on Sunday.

Paul James Larson and Lynn Jay Clinger, both of Newport, Wash., were charged with possession of methamphetamine and marijuana with intent to deliver. Larson is further charged with possession of a prescription narcotic with intent to deliver.

Their bails were set at $50,000 each and public defenders were appointed to represent the two men.

Larson, who is awaiting sentencing in a pending meth case, was stopped on U.S. Highway 2 for having expired tags on his Jeep. He was recognized from the earlier bust and his pupils were constricted despite it being dark out, according to a Bonner County Sheriff's detective's report.

Constricted pupils can be a symptom of central nervous system depressant use. Larson also denied knowing the man in his vehicle very well, a statement which was contradicted by Clinger, the report said.

Larson, 37, was searched and four tablets of hydrocodone were discovered in his pocket. The search of Clinger, 51, turned up more than 2 grams of meth and nearly 3 grams of pot.

During the arrest, Clinger's cellular phone rang and chimed with incoming calls and text messages from people wanting drugs, the report said.

Larson is scheduled to be sentenced later this month on a reduced charge of meth possession that stemmed from a June traffic stop which yielded 90 grams of meth and 4 grams of black tar heroin.