Agents bust up alleged pot grow

PRIEST RIVER - A Bonner County man was arrested Friday in connection with an alleged indoor marijuana growing operation, Sheriff Elaine Savage announced on Monday.

Fred Lee Stephenson Jr. is charged with trafficking marijuana, a felony. Stephenson, 26, was ordered held Monday on $50,000 and a public defender was appointed to represent him, court records said.

A preliminary hearing is pending in the magistrate division of 1st District Court.

Savage said narcotics agents and patrol deputies discovered 26 marijuana plants at 1006 Mirror Lake Rd., which is located off Eastside Road northeast of Priest River.

The pot was being grown indoors, according to court documents.

A second occupant at the residence, 25-year-old Holly Anne Pharis, was cited and released for frequenting a place where drugs were present, a sheriff's news release said.

Drug task force members are continuing to investigate the matter, Savage said.