Former prosecutor Robin Dunn gets plea deal on drug charges

IDAHO FALLS — A former Jefferson County prosecutor is expected to plead guilty after being indicted last year on federal drug charges.

According to a plea agreement filed Tuesday, Robin Dunn, 68, agreed to plead guilty to the first count of his indictment, conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine, in exchange for The prosecution's agreement to drop all other charges and recommend a sentence of 42 months. , or three and a half years in prison.

Possible penalties for this crime include up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a maximum fine of $1 million.

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Dunn initially pleaded not guilty after being charged in September with one federal count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine, two counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine and one count of distributing methamphetamine.

According to a September 2023 press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, from June 2022 to February 19, 2023, “Dunn conspired with others to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine in eastern Idaho.”

The indictment says Dunn “knowingly and intentionally possessed fentanyl and methamphetamine, with the intent to distribute them to others” in October and November 2022.

The Idaho U.S. Attorney's Office said it has no comment on the case at this time, but likely will once Dunn's guilty plea is entered.

EastIdahoNews.com reached out to Dunn's attorneys but did not receive a response. We will update if we receive a response.

A change of plea hearing has not yet been scheduled.

Dunn Admits to Drug Dealing and Conspiracy to Smuggle Drugs into Bonneville County Jail

The plea agreement says Dunn admits that he and three unnamed co-conspirators agreed to “distribute controlled substances.”

Dunn traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada, and Salt Lake City, Utah, multiple times with the co-conspirators to obtain fentanyl and methamphetamine and bring them back to Idaho for distribution .

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The agreement states that Dunn “caused the distribution of fentanyl at a correctional facility (Bonneville County Jail)” to one of the co-conspirators, who was an inmate of his and legal client.

“(Dunn) acknowledges that he abused a position of trust by using his position as an attorney to further his drug trafficking activities,” the plea agreement states.

Background

Dunn was arrested on February 17, 2023 after officers were called to the parking lot of Shari in Idaho Falls around 8:45 p.m. for reports that a woman “fell asleep” in the restaurant and appeared to be under the influence alcohol. or drugs.

They said she was now in a car with a man in the parking lot and they were worried she might try to drive. Police arrived at the restaurant and found the car running.

They identified the driver as Vivian Exler and the passenger as Dunn. Court records show Dunn was originally Exler's attorney, but since his arrest he has been removed from his case.

Dunn possessed approximately 60 counterfeit pills, commonly known as “dirty thirties,” that contained fentanyl, according to Idaho Falls Police Department spokeswoman Jessica Clements.

He also allegedly had eight Xanax pills and four Alprazolam pills, which are controlled substances and require a prescription.

During Dunn's preliminary hearing, Officer Matthew Matherly of the Idaho Falls Police Department testified that although the interior of the car was clean, there were several drug items on display. free.

“The vehicle was relatively clean, there was no trash or clutter or anything like that, but on the floor behind the driver's seat I saw a red straw with a burnt end, as well as “A roll of foil in the box. The rear passenger side of the vehicle,” Matherly said. “Both of those are indicators of drug use to me.”

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Other officers said that during a subsequent search of the car, they found a check made out to Exler from Dunn for a total of $7,900.

Dunn refused to consent to a search and identified himself as an attorney. Mathery then searched him and discovered Narcan packaged in the left front pocket of his shirt. Narcan is a medication used to reverse an opioid overdose.

Officers were eventually able to search Dunn after telling him he would go to jail and receive additional charges if he got there and was found in possession of illegal substances.

Matherly says they found a straw and burnt aluminum foil in his pants pocket and several bags of fentanyl pills, or “dirty 30s,” as well as a blue medicine bottle containing Xanax, in his boot .

He posted bond and was released on February 20.

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Local charges were later dismissed and Dunn was federally charged. He was then arrested a second time at his Rigby home by federal agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and booked into the Cassia County Jail.

Dunn served as the town attorney for Roberts and Ririe until March 2023. He served as the town attorney for Rigby for nearly three decades before resigning in 2022.

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He worked as a Jefferson County prosecutor for 34 years before retiring in 2016.