Appeals court affirms sentence in meth case

SANDPOINT — The Idaho Court of Appeals is affirming a prison sentence given to a Bonner County man who allegedly went straight from his sentencing hearing  in a methamphetamine case to a store to purchase ingredients to cook the stimulant.

Jerry Lee Dingman appealed a district court judge’s denial of a motion for a reduction of sentence in his case. The appeals court ruled Judge James R. Michaud did not abuse his discretion in denying Dingman’s plea for leniency, according to an unpublished opinion released on Jan. 8.

The court’s ruling came down after Dingman was paroled on a charge of trafficking via attempted manufacturing and the prior meth possession charge, Idaho Department of Correction records indicate.

Dingman, 26, pleaded guilty to the trafficking charge after Bonner County sheriff’s deputies searched his Gold Creek-area home in 2007 and found ample evidence that he was cooking the drug, according to court documents.

The search came two days after Dingman was given a suspended prison sentence in the possession case, although he allegedly admitted to a deputy that he went directly from his hearing to a discount store to purchase cold medications used to concoct the drug.

Dingman argued on appeal that his prison sentence of 2-8 years in the trafficking case was too excessive.