CLARKSTON, WA – A Clarkston man is in custody in Asotin County after failing to appear for pre-trial proceedings in Nez Perce County earlier this month, according to court records.
Authorities say 34-year-old Levi D. Linton was arrested on Monday afternoon by the Asotin County Sheriff’s Office on a warrant issued by Nez Perce County. Linton remained in custody at the Asotin County Jail as of Tuesday morning, awaiting extradition to Nez Perce County.
Linton faces felony drug trafficking charges stemming from a traffic stop in Lewiston on April 3, 2025. Officers stopped a gold 2003 Ford Windstar near Highway 128 and U.S. Highway 95 after the vehicle failed to stop. A drug detection K-9 alerted to narcotics inside the vehicle, prompting officers to conduct a search.
The search revealed a magnetic lockbox and a glass container holding a crystalline substance suspected to be methamphetamine. A concealed compartment in the rear of the van contained a plastic-wrapped bag with approximately 224.3 grams of methamphetamine, an amount above the threshold for trafficking under Idaho law.
Court documents indicate that while Linton told officers the van did not belong to him and was used to transport a bedridden relative, investigators later determined he was the primary driver and believed to be living in the vehicle.
Linton has been formally charged with trafficking in methamphetamine, a felony carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of at least $15,000 under Idaho law.
