Pocatello pair charged with four counts apiece of delivering fentanyl

POCATELLO — A man and woman have each been charged with multiple felonies after police say they sold fentanyl to undercover agents on numerous occasions.

Robert Darrell Lish, Jr., 40, and Torie Rae Slaughter, 22, each face four counts of delivery of a controlled substance, court records show. Lish has also been charged with possession of fentanyl.

Members of the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force arrested Lish and Slaughter near a grocery store on Arthur Avenue in Pocatello around 11:45 a.m. June 15, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

The arrest was made, without incident, after undercover agents purchased fentanyl from the couple on four separate occasions between April 13 and April 18.

When officers searched the vehicle the couple used to make the drug deliveries, a white 2004 Chevrolet Impala, they found a “tooter” straw — used for ingesting drugs — and a piece of aluminum with remnants of what officers believed to be fentanyl.

Lish told officers about the tooter and foil, adding that he believed there to be a full fentanyl pill folded into the foil, the affidavit says. Officers did not find a full pill, but did send what remains were found to an Idaho State Police lab for analysis.

Officers also seized “a small amount of marijuana” from Slaughter, according to the affidavit.

Lish and Slaughter were taken to Bannock County Jail, where they were booked. Slaughter was released to court services on her own recognizance. Lish is being held on a $50,000 bond.

Each delivery charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Though Lish and Slaughter have been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean they committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

Both are scheduled to appear in court for preliminary hearings before Magistrate Judge David Hooste on Aug. 16.