Beach to serve two to five on possession charge

BONNERS FERRY — A Boundary County man has been sentenced on a charge of possession of a controlled substance.

Paul S. Beach, 57, will have to serve two years on the charge, followed by an indeterminate period of up to three years with a maximum to exceed five years on Jan. 19.

In an affidavit by Officer Malorie Stippich, Beach was stopped at a traffic stop with an expired registration June 8, 2021. When Beach was looking for proof of insurance on his cellphone, Stippich saw what she thought was a smoking pipe for methamphetamine in Beach’s sweatshirt pocket, according to court records.

Beach was arrested, cuffed and placed in the back of the patrol car. Stippich began a search of the vehicle when Beach advised the officer there was a “pack of smokes” with more meth inside the vehicle near the driver’s side seat.

Stippich conducted the search which yielded two baggies of while crystalline substance inside a cigarette box under the driver’s seat.

Beach was transported to the Boundary County Jail. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of paraphernalia.

Beach has had two other cases in Bonner County for controlled substance possession in 2004 and 2006.