Pair plead guilty to meth trafficking

U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced guilty pleas in two methamphetamine trafficking cases in North Idaho on Wednesday.

Gary Glasser and Guillermo Duarte each pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in separate cases before U.S. Magistrate Judge Debora K. Grasham, a press release said.

According to court records, Gary Glasser, 61, of Lewiston, met another person in May 2023 who provided him with a satchel containing methamphetamine in Nez Perce County. Glasser was subsequently arrested, and a search of his home uncovered indications of intent to distribute, including a digital scale, several glassine baggies, and multiple ledgers, the release said.

In a separate case, Guillermo Duarte, 20, of Yakima, Wash., was in the front passenger seat of a vehicle that was searched by law enforcement in Kootenai County following a positive K-9 alert in October 2023. Law enforcement found about 6,500 grams of methamphetamine hidden inside a vacuum cleaner box in the trunk of the vehicle, the release said.

Both Glasser and Duarte are scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 10 at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene. Each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and up to a $1 million fine.