Evan Nickolai Ernstson, a 48-year-old Idaho resident, has been sentenced to 262 months in federal prison for his role in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Justin Whatcott. Following his prison term, Senior U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill ordered Ernstson to serve five years of supervised release and imposed a $2000 fine.
Court documents reveal Ernstson, originally from San Francisco, headed a drug trafficking network operating from Boise's North End neighborhood between October 2023 and March 2024. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), through investigative efforts including a wiretap, seized ten pounds of methamphetamine, a kilogram of cocaine, and four firearms. Ernstson's arrest occurred on March 20, 2024, when he returned to Idaho from Portland, Oregon, carrying a shipment of drugs and a loaded 9mm handgun.
During the DEA's wiretap, it was discovered that someone had stolen $65,000 of drug proceeds from Ernstson while he was away. The intercepted communications showed Ernstson's plan to kidnap and torture two individuals for the return of the money, but agents intervened, foiling the plot and recovering about $42,000.
Ernstson is the third member of this drug trafficking organization to receive a prison sentence. Co-defendants Eva Spikes and Leandru Stephens were each sentenced to five years for meth distribution in late 2024. Four other associates have pleaded guilty to various charges, awaiting sentencing in May 2025.
Additional convictions include Dustin Wyatt Peymon, 53, sentenced to 33 months; Kristine Marie Shern, 28, sentenced to three years of probation; and Brian Earl Polk, 26, sentenced to 77 months in prison and four years of supervised release. Each were implicated in related drug trafficking activities.
Acting U.S. Attorney Whatcott praised the cooperation among federal and state agencies: "Our federal and state partners work together tirelessly to ensure that drug traffickers, especially those who are violent or armed, find no safe harbor in Idaho."
Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle, David F. Reames, highlighted Ernstson's operation: "Mr. Ernstson led a drug trafficking ring that not only poisoned Idaho with large quantities of methamphetamine and other drugs but was poised to kidnap and torture to further his criminal enterprise." He added, "This lengthy sentence ensures our community’s safety and demonstrates law enforcement’s steadfast resolve to protect our citizens from people like Mr. Ernstson."
The investigation was conducted with assistance from several law enforcement entities, including the Boise Police Department, Nampa Police Special Investigations Unit, Ada County Sheriff's Office, and Elmore County Sheriff's Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin C. Blackadar and Christian S. Nafzger.
This case forms part of a wider effort led by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), which utilizes a collaborative approach to eliminate high-level criminal networks in the United States.