Acting U.S. Attorney Justin Whatcott announced the sentencing of two men in separate fentanyl trafficking cases in eastern Idaho.
David Erik Traversa, 32, from Utah, received a sentence of 156 months in federal prison for possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute. In May 2024, officers conducted a traffic stop and arrested an individual carrying approximately 200 fentanyl pills weighing 19.6 grams. The search led to two hotel room keys, prompting officers to obtain a warrant from a magistrate judge in Idaho's Sixth Judicial District.
Upon executing the search warrant, officers found Traversa overdosing in one of the rooms and administered life-saving measures until medical help arrived. Fentanyl pills and drug paraphernalia were discovered at the scene. At the hospital, staff found a black drawstring bag containing about 576 fentanyl pills attached to Traversa's genitals. The total fentanyl seized weighed 84.42 grams. Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ordered five years of supervised release following his prison term. Traversa pleaded guilty in November 2024.
In another case, Casey Steven Evans, 38, from Pocatello, was sentenced to 60 months for similar charges involving fentanyl possession with intent to distribute. In May 2024, law enforcement stopped Evans' blue Range Rover and developed probable cause to search it during the stop. Officers discovered a black metal safe containing small blue circular fentanyl pills and a loaded SCCY CPX-1 handgun in the trunk. A second loaded Taurus PT111 handgun was found on the front passenger floorboard. The safe contained 107.94 grams of fentanyl.
Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye also imposed five years of supervised release after Evans' prison sentence; he pleaded guilty in February 2025.
The BADGES Task Force investigated these cases as part of the Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). This task force includes multiple agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration and local police departments.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoie Laggis prosecuted these cases under a program created by Eastern Idaho Partnership (EIP) and funded by state resources that allows law enforcement to utilize federal systems for prosecuting violent criminals and drug traffickers.
Since its inception in January 2016, this program has indicted approximately 190 defendants on various charges resulting in sentences totaling over 11,060 months (921 years) with an average sentence length for drug offenses being around five years.
