Accused dealer's freedom short-lived
SANDPOINT — Exactly a year and a day after he was released onto probation in a drug-dealing case, a Hope man was arrested for possessing more than 35 grams of cocaine and nearly $1,000 in cash.
Avery Forest Auletta is charged with drug trafficking. A preliminary hearing in the case is set for today in magistrate court.
If Auletta is ordered to stand trial and the state wins a conviction, he faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of three years and a $10,000 fine.
He also faces the imposition of a suspended prison sentenced that was handed down in a 2007 drug case, according to documents filed in 1st District Court.
Auletta, 24, was stopped in Sandpoint on Christmas Eve after a motorist in Careywood reported him as a reckless driver on U.S. Highway 95, a Sandpoint Police report said. Auletta and his vehicle were subject to search because he was on felony probation in the prior case.
A backpack found in the trunk of the Chrysler sedan he was driving held one bag containing about 28 grams of cocaine.
A search of Auletta’s person turned up $985 in cash, according to the report.
Auletta denied selling the drug and said the coke was for personal use, Officer Mike Victorino said in his report.
Auletta was arrested in 2007 after drug agents raided his Sandpoint apartment and discovered cocaine, methadone and several pounds of marijuana. He was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, marijuana trafficking and possession of methadone.
In an agreement with the state, Auletta was pleaded guilty to possession of pot and coke with intent to distribute. He was sentenced in 2008 to concurrent prison terms of two to five years.
Jurisdiction was retained in the case, which qualified Auletta for probation after serving six months of the sentence. He was placed on probation on Dec. 23, 2008, court records indicate.
Auletta and a co-defendant forfeited more $13,000 cash in connection with the criminal case, court documents show.
Probation & Parole officials are recommending the suspended prison term be imposed as a result of Auletta’s latest arrest.