Kopas bound for Cottonwood

BONNERS FERRY  A man whose meth lab prompted a full-scale haz mat response when family members who found it was sentenced to two to six years in prison May 4.

Amos Kopas, 28, will spend six months in the North Idaho Correctional Institution in Boise. 

Moyie Springs residents Dave and Mary Kopas paid a visit to the sheriffs office March 11, saying that they'd observed their son “cooking meth” in a workshop on their property, and to prove it they just happened to have brought in a nylon bag they'd found behind that workshop. 

The sheriff's office and the Bonners Ferry Police Department immediately cordoned off the area around the car, a hazardous materials team was called in and a full emergency response was initiated, closing a street in front of the sheriff's office for much of the day. 

Based on evidence found in the car, sheriffs deputies obtained a search warrant, where more evidence was obtained. Kopas was formally charged with trafficking methamphetamines by manufacture later that day. 

Kopas agreed to plead guilty to a reduced felony charge of possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture or deliver, and Judge Benjamin Simpson accepted the plea, sentencing Kopas to a two year determinate and six year indeterminate prison sentence. 

If Kopas successfully completes rehabilitation programs offered at Cottonwood, the sentence could remain suspended and he be placed on probation. If not, he'll be ordered to complete his sentence at Idaho State Prison.