Spokane Man Sentenced To Prison For Federal Narcotics Violations

Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 6:30 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

COEUR D’ALENE, ID.- On Friday, October 11, 2024, Joshua Alan Berg, 47, of Spokane, Washington, appeared in U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Amanda K. Brailsford to 188 months in federal prison to be followed by four years of supervised release.

     Berg had previously appeared in U.S. District Court and pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance.

     According to documents filed with the court, on February 8, 2023, Police Officers responded to a drug overdose incident at a residence in St. Regis, Montana. During the subsequent drug overdose investigation, Police Officers were able to identify Berg as a person of knowledge about the overdose, and other surrounding law enforcement agencies were notified to be on the lookout for Berg.

     Police Officers in Shoshone County, Idaho, were able to identify Berg shortly thereafter and attempted to conduct a traffic vehicle stop on a vehicle Berg was driving. Berg failed to comply with the stop, and Berg led Police Officers on a high-speed pursuit, ultimately ending with Berg crashing his car into a snowbank and fleeing on foot. 

Police Officers Find Gun And Narcotics

     Police Officers were able to apprehend Berg near his abandoned vehicle. During Berg’s arrest, Police Officers found that he was in possession of a pound and a half of methamphetamine and a half pound of fentanyl pills. Police Officers located a firearm that Berg had discarded during the pursuit.

     U.S. Attorney Joshua D. Hurwit commended the investigative work of the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office, Mineral County, Idaho Law Enforcement agencies, and the North Idaho Narcotics Enforcement Taskforce for Berg’s arrest, conviction, and Friday’s federal prison sentence.