Federal Jury Convicts Lewiston Drug Trafficker on Six Charges

COEUR D'ALENE – Christopher William Bounds, 37, of Lind, Washington, was convicted by a federal jury in Coeur d'Alene on six federal drug and firearms charges, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced today. The jury found Bounds guilty of:

1. Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin;
2. Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine;
3. Possession with intent to distribute heroin;
4. Unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon;
5. Unlawful possession of a firearm by a drug addict; and
6. Possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

During the four day trial, the jury heard evidence that on August 15, 2018, Quad Cities Drug Task Force detectives were conducting surveillance on Bounds who had just brought a load of methamphetamine and heroin from Washington. During their surveillance, detectives observed Bounds make a hand to hand drug transaction. Bounds’ vehicle was pulled over, just outside Lewiston, by a Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Deputy assisting the task force. Officers searched Bounds’ vehicle and seized two pounds of pure methamphetamine, 490 grams of heroin, and sixteen firearms. Testimony at trial showed that the drugs were valued at over $32,000. Bounds’ cell phone was also seized and searched. Communications showed that Bounds was tied into drug traffickers also under federal indictment in the Eastern District of Washington.

Bounds faces a sentence of 15 years to life in federal prison, and up to a $20,000,000 fine, for the drug trafficking charges. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and up to a $250,000 fine for unlawfully possessing firearms. A five year consecutive sentence must also be imposed for his possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.

Sentencing is set for November 17, 2020, before U.S. District Judge David C. Nye, at the federal courthouse in Coeur d'Alene.

Multiple law enforcement agencies contributed to the prosecution of this case including the Lewiston Police Department, Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office, Clarkston Police Department, Whitman County Sheriff’s Office, and Federal Bureau of Investigation, who are all part of the Quad Cities Drug Task Force, as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Drug Enforcement Administration, who are not part of the task force but participate with it on a regular basis. The Quad Cities Drug Task Force is a multi-jurisdictional group of law enforcement officers working together to target drug trafficking in Lewiston and Moscow, Idaho, and Clarkston and Pullman, Washington.

This indictment is the result of a joint investigation by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply. Program participants include Federal Bureau of Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; and U.S. Marshals Service.

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