Judge tosses drug evidence

SANDPOINT — A marijuana trafficking case pending against a Bonner County couple has been stripped of evidence and incriminating statements made by the accused growers.

Although Seth Matthan Walser and Kimberly Sue Brown ultimately agreed to the search that led to the discovery of indoor grow rooms, 1st District Judge Steve Verby concluded that — under the totality of the circumstances — their consent was not voluntary.

Verby issued an 18-page order Wednesday granting defense motions to suppress the physical evidence and statements the couple made to a sheriff’s deputy who uncovered the 100 plants.

The ruling could prove to be a death blow to the state’s case and a triumph for the defense.

“This is an awesome decision,” Chief Public Defender Isabella Robertson, who represents Brown, said on Thursday. “I don’t see how they can take this to trial. That doesn’t mean they won’t try, but I don’t see how it could go.”

The state’s wishes were unclear Thursday. Deputy Prosecutor Shane Greenbank was unavailable for comment.

Walser, 32, and Brown, 28, are free while the case is pending.

The couple was charged with trafficking following a Jan. 28 search of an outbuilding at their home on Rapid Lightning Road. Deputy Marty Ryan went to the home after 9 p.m. to check on anonymous tip that pot was being grown on the property.

During the hour-long discussion that preceded the couple giving consent, Ryan presented Walser and Brown with two options — consent to a search and be summoned to court or face immediate arrest and have their children placed in the custody of the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare.

But Verby noted that during the discussion, Ryan tried to dissuade them from contacting an attorney, restricted their movements, prohibited them from making phone calls and advised them that their decision not to consent would expose them to a range of even harsher consequences.

Verby characterized Ryan’s demeanor during the discussion as polite yet firm, but found that the deputy created a situation that was anything but free of coercion.

“The professed good intentions of Deputy Ryan may have been humane, but such a constructed scenario did not result in voluntary consent,” Verby said in the ruling.