Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill sentenced a Fort Hall woman to 80 months in prison Thursday at the federal courthouse in Pocatello for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl.
According to court records, between April and August 2024, Mariah Dawn Russell, 30, 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 3 grams of methamphetamine and more than 760 grams of fentanyl.
Winmill also ordered Russell to serve five years of supervised release following her prison sentence.
Russell pleaded guilty to the charge on Dec. 16, 2024. Her co-defendant, Walker Dean Cates, 39, was sentenced May 21, 2025, to 84 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Bart Davis commended the work of the BADGES Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Fort Hall Police Department.
BADGES is an acronym for the Bannock Area Drug Group Enforcement Squad, a multi-jurisdictional narcotics task force based in Bannock County. It focuses on identifying, disrupting and dismantling drug trafficking and money laundering organizations operating at local, multi-state and international levels
The BADGES Task Force includes the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pocatello Police Department, the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, the Idaho State Police and the Chubbuck Police Department.