Protesters Want Neighbor To Leave Ex-Councilman Leads Fight Against Convicted Drug Dealer

Don Buckham - former city councilman, chairman of his homeowner’s association - is packing heat.

The loaded handgun is his defense against the convicted drug dealer next door, he said.

“He told me to ‘mind your own damn business, or I’m gonna take you out,”’ Buckham said. “I’m packing my own sidearm, and I’m a pretty good shot.”

Buckham is leading a neighborhood campaign to get the convicted dealer out, and he’s sending letters to anyone who will listen - the courts, the school board, even zoning officials. Buckham’s also enraged the man was released from jail after his home was raided by police because a forensics lab took too long to process evidence. Police say they’ve done everything they can.

Buckham and several other residents say Victor A. Slater - a man who served three years in a California jail and currently awaits a hearing on drug charges here - is dealing drugs from his home near a grade school and high school.

Buckham also claims Slater makes sex videos - while living directly across the street from the grade school. Slater has small children himself.

“You don’t need seniors with pistols strapped to them because they’re afraid they’re going to get shot,” said Wallace resident John Ruggles. A homeowner’s group has begun a letter-writing campaign to have Slater’s home seized.

Shoshone County sheriff’s Cpl. Mike Gunderson worries the spat may get out of control. “I hope Don doesn’t get himself in trouble,” he said of Buckham.

Slater’s preliminary hearing on drug charges is scheduled for Feb. 3.

Repeated attempts to reach Slater, 32, at his business and his home were unsuccessful. Police say Slater does not have a telephone, and no number is listed. His public defender did not return calls.

Slater was arrested on multiple drug counts and a charge of harboring a wanted felon on Dec. 11. He also is facing an unrelated domestic violence charge.

Slater was released from jail Jan. 3 after bail was reduced from $100,000 to $10,000. The bail was lowered because the forensics lab in Coeur d’Alene didn’t process evidence gathered at Slater’s home quickly enough.

If a hearing date isn’t scheduled for 14 days after a defendant’s initial court appearance, that defendant has to be released.

“With certain charges you need to have test results,” said Tammy Zokan, Shoshone’s deputy prosecutor. “Your choice is either to dismiss the charges or work something out with the defendant.”

At the time of the raid, Brian Snowball, a 24-year-old wanted in Montana on drug charges, was living with Slater. Police originally raided the home to take in Snowball. He since has been returned to Montana, Zokan said.

Once inside, though, deputies and city police found methamphetamines, marijuana and weapons, police say.

Prosecutors won’t release case details, but Gunderson said Slater now faces several felony charges. “There’s a pending investigation, and there may be more charges filed.”

Buckham watched as a swarm of police hauled away the drugs and an assortment of guns - “big ones and little ones” - from Slater’s rented house. More than a dozen police cruisers surrounded the place, Buckham said.

During the summer, neighbors routinely saw people coming and going from Slater’s place, packing “little white pillows,” Buckham said.

Buckham also claims to have seen Slater making sex videos - right in front of a window. He and his wife always wondered what the “colored lights” glowing in Slater’s windows were, he said, until one evening they looked up to an unexpected spectacle.

Buckham said he saw, through Slater’s window, three people having sex and one person videotaping it.

Slater is not facing any pornography-related charges, the prosecutor’s office said.

In the meantime, Buckham is starting a letter-writing campaign and keeps a log of goings-on at Slater’s home.

Buckham said Slater threatened him after he complained to Slater’s landlord. These days, Buckham doesn’t use his cordless telephone, for fear Slater is listening. And Buckham’s wife checks to see if her brakes are working before using the car.

“It changes the character of the neighborhood, and it’s a shame,” Ruggles said.

“If you want a drug-free neighborhood, then you need an example here.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo