Man sentenced for heroin crime

A Coeur d’Alene heroin dealer will spend four to 15 years in prison after being sentenced in Kootenai County District Court. Loren Paul Arey, 53, had nearly 11 grams of heroin in his possession when Post Falls police arrested him on Jan. 1, according to the Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office. Judge John Mitchell sentenced Arey on Monday to 15 years in prison with eligibility for parole after four years. He pleaded guilty to trafficking in heroin, the latest felony conviction in a criminal history that prosecutors say began in 1982. Arey will have access to programs in prison that will help determine if he can be released on supervision, Prosecutor Barry McHugh said in a news release.