Informant used to build case against Moscow businessman

Two Moscow residents arrested last week for alleged drug trafficking and intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance made their first appearance Monday in a Latah County courtroom.

Lee J. Thang, 42, and Jeanie K. Lee, 30, both of Moscow, were arrested Friday following more than a year of investigation by the Quad City Drug Task Force and the Idaho State Police.

Each made their first appearance in the Latah County Magistrate Court in front of Judge John Judge on Monday.

Both are charged with 17 felony counts of drug-related charges as co-defendants in the case. Bond was set at $250,000 for each.

Thang, owner of Hi-Tek Nails in the Palouse Mall, and Lee are being charged with two counts of drug trafficking in heroin, conspiracy to drug trafficking in heroin, drug trafficking in methamphetamine or amphetamine, conspiracy to drug trafficking in methamphetamine or amphetamine, enhancement drug delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school and 11 counts of controlled substance-manufacture or deliver, or possess with intent to manufacture or deliver.

At the time of the arrest, 7 ounces of heroin, 13 ounces of methamphetamine, a Phoenix Arms .22LR handgun and thousands of dollars in cash were allegedly found at two locations in Moscow searched by the task force. The narcotics allegedly discovered in the search were valued at approximately $20,000 to $30,000, according to a press release from the task force.

The search warrants leading to the arrests of both Thang and Lee were approved by Judge following a report from Moscow police officer Dustin Blaker describing nine incidents in which a confidential informant was used to allegedly purchase drugs from either defendant under supervised control of law enforcement.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Blaker began an investigation into the two defendants in January 2013 and started controlled buys the following January.

On Jan. 8, an informant was given $300 by the task force and instructed to enter Hi-Tek Nails to purchase as much heroin as $300 could buy from the defendant.

When the informant entered the store, Thang allegedly approached the individual, they spoke for a few minutes and Thang walked to the back of the store before returning to the informant, who was waiting in a chair near the entrance. Thang then allegedly dropped a plastic bag into a bag belonging to the informant and took the $300 in cash.

The informant then met with Blaker, who examined the bag, which after testing at the Idaho State Lab, was determined to contain 2.82 grams of heroin.

During the following 10 months, the task force conducted eight more controlled buys at various locations in Moscow, including the Palouse Mall parking lot, inside Hi-Tek Nails, the Zip Trip parking lot on Main Street, inside McDonald's on West Pullman Road, the Antique Mall parking lot on Main Street, Walgreens on Main Street and at Thang's residence, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Varying quantities of heroin and methamphetamine were allegedly bought from Thang and Lee during the encounters with the confidential informant.

All of the controlled buys were set up by either text messages or phone calls with the defendants, according to court documents. Blaker had also been told by two separate informants Thang had allegedly purchased a safe from Zales Jewelers when the store closed in 2012 and that the safe is now located in the back of the nail salon. The second informant said he or she had seen large quantities of cash inside the safe.

Search warrants were signed off for the residences of Thang and Lee and three vehicles registered to Thang, including a 2004 Honda Accord, a 2002 Chevrolet Camero and a 2004 BMW 325. The BMW was registered under an alias used by Thang, Loc Thang, and his ex-wife.

Lee was initially stopped around 6 p.m. Friday when she was spotted driving the BMW on a suspended license. She was arrested for driving without privileges and later placed under arrest for the numerous drug trafficking and delivery charges.

Approximately 18 minutes later, task force members executed the search of Thang's residence, detaining him during the beginning of the search. A total of $1,853 in cash was allegedly found on Thang at the time of his arrest.

During her initial appearance, Latah County public defenders Catherine Mabbutt and Travis Spears were appointed to represent Lee, while defense for Thang had not been set as of Wednesday afternoon.

A preliminary hearing will be held at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Latah County Courthouse.

Thang has previously faced charges in Latah County for failure to purchase or invalid driver's license. That charge was dismissed in August 2013.

Lee has charges pending for misdemeanor driving without privileges and an infraction for failure to provide proof of insurance. The next hearing in this case is set for 10 a.m. Nov. 18.

Lee was also charged in September 2012 and found guilty in February 2013 for possession of a controlled substance and for a driver's license or commercial driver's license violation.

An arrest warrant for failure to appear at a pretrial conference was ordered following Lee's absence at a November hearing for the controlled substance charges. After being found guilty in both cases, another bench warrant was issued in May 2013 for failure to pay fines.

Also in 2013, Lee pleaded guilty in Nez Perce County to providing false information to an officer.

Samantha Malott can be reached (208) 883-4639, or by email to smalott@dnews.com.