Woman accused of trafficking heroin

OLDTOWN — A Bonner County woman was arrested after attempting to lead a sheriff's deputy on a high-speed chase on U.S. Highway 2 on Sunday.

Carrie Lynn Smith was also charged with trafficking heroin, in addition to possession of methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia, according to court documents. Smith faces an additional charge of battery on a law officer for allegedly striking a deputy with her vehicle while speeding away.

Smith was scheduled to make an initial appearance in Bonner County Magistrate Court on Tuesday, although minutes from the brief hearing were not immediately available.

Smith, 40, was pulled over in Oldtown for having a malfunctioning headlight at 8:41 p.m. Smith exited the vehicle and was ordered to retake her seat behind the wheel, a deputy's probable cause affidavit said. Smith appeared "nervous" and "frantic," and was warned not to put the vehicle into gear after she put her hand on the gear stick, the affidavit said.

"No. I have to," Smith allegedly told the deputy and sped off. The door pillar of her vehicle allegedly struck the deputy, causing him to spin around and nearly had his feet run over.

Smith allegedly drove 100 mph in a 55 mph zone and the deputy attempted to execute a precision immobilization technique to halt the chase, but Smith was able to recover control of the vehicle. Smith drove eastbound and pulled into the Mangy Moose motel parking lot, where she attempted to flee on foot. Smith was tackled to the ground.

A search of her person led to the discovering of a meth pipe. A search of her vehicle, meanwhile, yielded 2 grams of heroin and 2 grams of meth. As many as 30 pieces of drug paraphernalia, a digital scale and zip-top baggies were also recovered during the search, according to court documents.

A preliminary hearing in the case is set for Jan. 27.