Two Blaine County residents have been charged with felonies for allegedly selling marijuana to a "confidential informant" in an Idaho State Police undercover drug investigation.
Frank Vincent Shields, a 29-year-old Hailey man, has been charged with three counts of delivery of marijuana, while Cynthia Hamilton Wilson, a 28-year-old Sun Valley woman, has been charged with a single count of the same crime. Shields and Wilson were allegedly involved in quarter-pound sales of marijuana to a person identified in court documents as "Confidential Informant No. 394."
According to police, Shields sold quarter-pound lots of the drug to Confidential Informant No. 394 on three occasions from April through June and Wilson was involved in the final transaction. The price for each sale was $1,200.
Shields was charged with the crimes on Aug. 31 and arrested on a warrant in mid-September. He posted $15,000 bond on Sept. 15 and made an initial court appearance on Monday, Sept. 27. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 13. Hailey attorney Christopher Simms has been appointed public defender.
The criminal case against Wilson was filed Sept. 16 and she made an initial court appearance that same day. She is currently free on $5,000 bond and has hired Ketchum attorney Andrew Parnes as defense counsel. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 20.
Delivery of marijuana is punishable in Idaho by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
A probable-cause affidavit filed by Detective Richard Garcia of the state police Investigations Division in Jerome states that all three drug purchases were arranged by Confidential Informant No. 394, who was fitted with recording devices for making the purchase arrangements and the actual buys.
Typically, up to eight law enforcement officers participated in security and surveillance of the purchases. Officers from the Blaine County Narcotics Team and the Blaine County Sheriff's Office assisted state police in the operation.
Garcia alleged that the first sale took place on April 27 in the parking lot at the Shell gas station in Bellevue, the second on May 28 at Shields' home on Fox Acres Road in Hailey and the third on June 30 in the parking lot at Mountain View grocery south of Ketchum. Garcia alleged that Wilson brought the marijuana to Shields for the final transaction.
Garcia reported that the marijuana was high quality, quoting Confidential Informant No. 394 as saying "that's some good-looking bud."
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
