Justin D. Whatcott Acting United States Attorney for the District of Idaho | Department of Justice
Deann Tackman, a 55-year-old resident of Boise, has been sentenced to 262 months in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine. The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Justin Whatcott.
Court records show that Tackman acted as the Idaho representative for a drug trafficking organization operating across multiple states and countries. Over a five-month period before her arrest, she supplied large amounts of methamphetamine to the Treasure Valley area. Law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation discovered that more than 60 pounds of methamphetamine were distributed in Treasure Valley shortly before Tackman's arrest. During a search at her residence, officers found over 36 individually wrapped packages, each containing about one pound of methamphetamine, hidden in the gas tank of a recently delivered vehicle.
“Ms. Tackman’s drug trafficking organization flooded our state with immense quantities of dangerous methamphetamine,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Whatcott. “Fortunately for Idahoans, six law enforcement agencies worked together to dismantle the organization and stop the flow of methamphetamine. This appropriately severe sentence sends the message to drug traffickers that they are not welcome in Idaho.”
David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge at DEA Seattle Field Division, added: “Ms. Tackman preyed on Treasure Valley residents by poisoning our community with large quantities of methamphetamine, leaving a trail of misery in her wake. I am proud that DEA and our partners were able to hold her to account for her crime with this lengthy sentence that she richly deserves.”
U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford also ordered Tackman to serve five years of supervised release after completing her prison term.
The case involved cooperation among several law enforcement agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Nampa Police Department Special Investigations Unit, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Boise Police Department, Meridian Police Department, and Oregon High Desert Drug Task Force.
The DEA Task Force and High Desert Drug Task Force work together using an intelligence-based approach supported by multiple agencies and prosecutors to target local and international drug trafficking organizations; these efforts are backed by the Oregon-Idaho High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA).
This prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America—an initiative designed to use all available resources from the Department of Justice to address illegal immigration issues, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect communities from violent crime through combined efforts such as those from Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
