Fort Hall Drug Dealer Sentenced to 80 months in Federal Prison

POCATELLO - Mariah Dawn Russell, 30, of Fort Hall, was sentenced to 80 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Bart Davis announced today.

According to court records, between April and August 2024, Russell sold methamphetamine and fentanyl to another person on four occasions at locations in Bannock, Bingham, and Bonneville Counties. In early October 2024, police arrested Russell after she met with another individual to purchase 1,000 fentanyl pills, which she intended to distribute. In total, between April and October 2024, law enforcement purchased or seized approximately three grams of methamphetamine and more than 760 grams of fentanyl.

Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Russell to serve five years of supervised release following her prison sentence. Russell pleaded guilty to the charge on December 16, 2024. Her co-defendant, Walker Cates was sentenced on May 21, 2025, to 84 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Davis commended the work of the BADGES Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Fort Hall Police Department. The BADGES Task Force is a HIDTA-funded task force that includes the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pocatello Police Department, the Bannock County Sheriff's Office, the Idaho State Police, and the Chubbuck Police Department. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoie Laggis prosecuted this case.

These cases were investigated through the Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program. HIDTA is an Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) sponsored counterdrug grant program that coordinates with and provides funding resources to multiagency drug enforcement initiatives, including the BADGES Task Force. The BADGES Task Force is a collaboration of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies that focuses primarily on drug trafficking in Bannock County and throughout the region.

This case was handled by the U.S. Attorney Office's specially deputized Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA), funded by the Eastern Idaho Partnership (EIP) and the State of Idaho. The EIP is a coalition of local city and county officials in eastern Idaho as well as the Idaho Department of Correction.

The EIP SAUSA program allows law enforcement to utilize the federal criminal justice system - through the EIP SAUSA - to prosecute, convict, and sentence violent, armed criminals and drug traffickers. These criminals often receive stiffer penalties than they might in state courts.

This program was created in January 2016. Since that time, approximately 275 defendants have been indicted by the EIP SAUSA. Of these defendants, 197 have been indicted on drug trafficking charges. The defendants indicted under the program have been sentenced to 12,998 months (approximately 1,083.17 years) in federal prison, representing an average prison sentence of 51.99 months (4.33 years). Defendants indicted for drug trafficking offenses under this program, serve on average approximately 75.63 months (6.30 years) in federal prison.

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