Two St. Maries Men Charged In Meth Bust ‘A Lot Of Dope’ Found In Trailer During Benewah County’s Biggest Drug Arrest

Two St. Maries men were charged with drug dealing Thursday as part of the biggest methamphetamine bust ever made in the county.

Benewah County sheriff’s deputies seized nearly 2 pounds of the drug crank Wednesday from a home near St. Maries.

Robert C. Marquette, 21, of St. Maries, was arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

An arrest warrant was issued for Brian L. Ross, 22, of St. Maries, charging him with trafficking in methamphetamine, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and delivery of methamphetamine.

“For an area as small as St. Maries, that’s a lot of dope,” said Wayne Longo of the Idaho State Criminal Investigation Bureau, which helped make the arrest.

Sheriff’s officials received a tip that methamphetamine could be found at a single-wide mobile home near State Highway 3, said Undersheriff Ed Westbrook.

When officers went to the trailer they found Marquette along with 719 grams of methamphetamine, Westbrook said.

They also found 80 grams of marijuana, separated into small packages, apparently for sale, Longo said.

Six guns also were confiscated.

Westbrook estimates the street value of the methamphetamine at about $35,000.

Ross owns the trailer where the drugs were found, Westbrook said. Authorities were still looking for him Thursday night. Marquette was being held at the Benewah County Jail.

The number of methamphetamine arrests have skyrocketed in the Inland Northwest.

The Kootenai County Prosecutor’s office filed 93 felony methamphetamine charges in 1994. That number jumped to 240 in 1995.

“This is the drug of choice,” Longo said. “The thing is, the violence - it just makes people crazy.”

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