Man appears in court after reportedly trafficking pounds of marijuana

Daniel Dale Curnutt, 40 | Bonneville County Jail
IDAHO FALLS – A man appeared in court Monday after allegedly trafficking over four pounds of marijuana.
Daniel Dale Curnutt, 40, was charged with felony drug trafficking of marijuana and misdemeanor use or possession of drug paraphernalia after being pulled over by police in August.
Records show an Idaho State Police officer pulled into a gas station to clean his car windshield when he noticed a white Toyota Prius at a nearby gas pump.
The officer states in the police report that two men were standing by the car and appeared to be staring at him.
One of the men asked the officer, “How is it going?” but according to the officer, he “choked on the last word “going” and turned away in what appeared to be a nervous communication with a police officer.”
The officer responded, “Good, how about you guys?” before the two men “appeared to quickly get inside the Prius and leave.”
The officer watched as the Prius failed to stop while exiting the parking lot, failed to stop at a stop sign, and did not have their headlights or taillights turned on, even though it was past sunset, according to court documents.
The Prius was then pulled over by the officer, and the driver was identified as Curnutt.
Curnutt told the officer he was sorry for not stopping at the stop sign and that the Prius was a rental he had picked up that morning and he was on his way to return it.
The officer said he “could smell the odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle.”
Curnutt was asked to get out of the car so that the deputy could search it. Curnutt told the officer that he wouldn’t give him consent to search the car, and the officer explained to him that although his remark was noted, he was still going to search the car.
When asked how much marijuana he had with him, Curnutt said he “uses marijuana and last used it yesterday.” He then pulled out a vaping kit and placed it on the hood of the car.
When the officer asked what all he had inside the vehicle that shouldn’t be there, Curnutt “seemed to freeze and was silent for a moment to process what was happening,” according to court documents.
He then told the officer that a black backpack was in the vehicle. The officer searched Curnutt and did not find anything on his body, then sat him in the police car.
The officer then asked the passenger to step out of the vehicle and noticed that he was filming him on a cell phone.
When the passenger was asked about marijuana, court documents say that he “stated he was going to exert his right to remain silent.”
The officer then found “rolling papers” inside a cigarette box that was in the passenger’s shirt pocket. The passenger was then detained and also placed in the police car.
The officer searched the vehicle, where he reportedly found “a black garbage bag that contained four large vacuum sealed bags of raw green marijuana, a jar with suspected marijuana wax butter inside, and 10 vape THC cartridges” inside of the black backpack.
The total weight of the marijuana was four and a half pounds.
Curnutt and the passenger were released while the charges were pending. Officers say Curnutt failed to meet with them days later, and a warrant was issued for his arrest on Sept. 28.
Curnutt was found and booked into the Bonneville County Jail, and his bond was set to $20,000. Curnutt posted bail and was released on Oct. 16.
There have been no charges filed as of yet for the passenger of the Prius.
Though Curnutt has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
Curnutt is scheduled to attend a preliminary hearing on Oct. 26. If convicted, he could face up to six years in prison.
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Source: eastidahonews.com