Alleged drug runner will face trial

A Pennsylvania man charged with drug trafficking will spend at least part of the new year in Idaho.

The testimony of two local law enforcement officers during a preliminary hearing Wednesday was enough for Magistrate Kent J. Merica to hold Paul A. Pitonyak, 23, of Erie, Pa., over for trial in Lewiston's 2nd District Court on trafficking in marijuana charges.

Idaho State Police Sgt. Ken Yount testified he was headed toward a meeting in Orofino in his police cruiser Oct. 30. Between Lenore and Peck on U.S. Highway 12, he stopped to help a gray 1991 Toyota Camry with its hood open and parked on the side of the road.

Yount testified the driver, Pitonyak, told him he was on his way back to Pennsylvania from an aunt's funeral in California and his car was having problems overheating. Pitonyak told him the car, which had California plates, was left to him by his aunt.

Yount testified Pitonyak seemed nervous and on edge from the moment he arrived, pacing back and forth when Yount approached the vehicle.

After ticketing Pitonyak for lacking proof of insurance, Yount said he called in the nearest K-9 unit to search for narcotics based on his observations and a story he believed was suspect.

While waiting for Lewis County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Jason Davis to arrive with the drug dog, Yount said Pitonyak, who was not being detained, walked up the hillside to find cellphone service.

After he arrived, Davis, who also testified Wednesday, said his dog quickly identified the scent of marijuana, allegedly from inside the vehicle, but Pitonyak was nowhere to be found when they turned to ask for the keys.

It wasn't until the next morning that law enforcement officers found Pitonyak at a hotel in Orofino, more than 10 miles away through rugged terrain.

Inside the Camry's trunk, officers allegedly found 13 sealed packages containing 10 pounds of marijuana, according to testimony.

Pitonyak's defense attorney, Jonathan Hally of Lewiston, took issue with the search, arguing his client's perceived anxiety was not enough to justify Yount holding him for the amount of time he did.

"Everything after that is fruit of a poisonous tree," Hally said.

However, the court sided with Nez Perce County Deputy Prosecutor April Smith.

Pitonyak, who was not in Nez Perce County Jail custody Wednesday, is set to be arraigned at 1:15 p.m. Jan. 9 before 2nd District Judge Carl B. Kerrick.

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Brown may be contacted at dbrown@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2278. Follow him on Twitter @DylanBrown26.