Two arrested after DEA finds pot near border

Two Canadian men face drug charges in U.S District Court after federal agents say they were caught near the border with eight duffel bags of marijuana Sunday night. William Richard Paterson, 50, and Jahrum David Oakes, 32, are in the Spokane County Jail. They are due in federal court Thursday for a hearing to decide if they should be granted bail or remain in custody pending charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Drug Enforcement Administration agents in Spokane drove to Ferry County after a tip that drug smugglers were near a home at Fourth of July Creek Road in Danville, adjacent to the border, according to a probable cause affidavit filed Monday. The homeowner said he didn’t know anything about the case and let federal agents search his property, where they found Ronnie Mark Buhlinger standing near hay stacks about 100 yards west of the home and 500 yards south of the border. Buhlinger was questioned but released in Spokane “pending further investigation,” agents said. Paterson and Oakes were arrested after DEA agents spotted them walking from the direction of the border, each carrying two large duffel bags of marijuana, according to the affidavit. Four duffel bags were found at a border fence about 500 yards from where the men were arrested, documents allege.