Idaho judge scolds deputies for illegal detention

COEUR D’ALENE – A northern Idaho judge scolded sheriff’s deputies after a man was held at gunpoint for having a loud muffler and driving slightly more than the speed limit.

The Coeur d’Alene Press reports Judge Lansing Haynes dismissed methamphetamine and paraphernalia charges against 28-year-old Jared A. Tanner on Thursday. In his remarks, Haynes said deputies intentionally detained Tanner illegally and unconstitutionally beyond the reason for the original traffic stop.

According to police reports, Tanner was pulled over by a Kootenai County deputy on May 9 for driving 31 mph in a 25 mph speed zone, as well as having a loud muffler. It took nearly an hour to write the two tickets. In that time, deputies called a drug dog to search the car.

Haynes said it was the “court’s belief” that the citations were never written.

No one from the Kootenai County sheriff’s office attended Thursday’s hearing.