No jail time for Libby man guilty of cocaine possession

A Libby man received a 5-year suspended sentence for cocaine possession Monday in Lincoln County District Court.

May 19, 67-year-old Rodney Earle (Hank) Maxim pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine. His plea deal calls for him to serve a five-year suspended sentence and forfeit $6,600 in cash that he was carrying at the time of his arrest.

Maxim got credit for serving three days in the county jail following his Oct. 4, 2024, arrest. His attorney, Natalie Bergen-Henengouwen, asked Judge Matt Cuffe to waive the $800 public defender’s fee.

“Hank had quite a bit of money on him at the time of his arrest and he forfeited that,” Bergen-Henengouwen said. “He’ll have trouble paying the fee.”

Maxim said he was retired, got about $200 a month in Social Security payments and had credit card bills to pay. He also said his residence was paid off.

Jeffrey Zwang, who prosecuted the case, said the plea deal called for no waiver of the fee. He asked Maxim if he could still work and earn money.

“The day before I was arrested (Oct. 3, 2024), I got paid for working on my neighbor’s house,” Maxim said.

Cuffe ordered Maxim to pay the fee while pointing out that he had the duration of the sentence to do it.

Meanwhile, Maxim’s associate, Tucero Antonio Knippling, 42, of Tacoma, Washington, is being sought by authorities after he failed to show for two hearings earlier this year.

Knippling was also arrested Oct. 4, 2024.

According to the warrantless arrest probable cause statement by county officer Derek Breiland, deputies and officers were investigating a narcotics case when they saw Knippling, carrying two backpacks, get off an Amtrak train at 9:15 a.m. and get into a pickup truck belonging to Maxim.

After leaving the train station, the truck headed north on Highway 37 before Deputy John Hyslop, Breiland, Det. Anthony Jenson and Libby officer Don Luthey stopped the vehicle at the intersection of City Service Road and California Ave.

Maxim got out of the truck first. When Knippling was ordered to get out, he allegedly ran across the Kootenai Bridge toward the train tracks. Hyslop and Deputy Andrew Smith chased him down and arrested him near the river.

After getting a search warrant for the truck, officers reported finding 20 grams of a substance that field tested positive for cocaine that were individually packaged in 40 small bags. Officers also reported finding cocaine in Maxim’s possession as well as the cash.

According to deputy Smith’s report, he took Maxim to the county jail and got the defendant’s permission to remove various items from the man’s pockets. During the search, Maxim said, “I’m a drug addict.” When Smith asked him what his drug of choice was, Maxim said, “cocaine.”

The search turned up a pipe and a clear container that held a white rock and powder. The substances field tested positive for cocaine. It also turned up $5,900 in $100 bills in a shorts pocket. During an inventory of Maxim’s wallet after his arrest, $700 in $100 bills was found.

According to the charging document, Knippling was in Libby four times in the last month, arriving on Friday mornings and leaving on Friday evenings.

Knippling was initially lodged in the county jail on $100,000 bail, charged with two felonies, criminal possession of drugs with intent to distribute, carrying dangerous drugs on a train, and one misdemeanor, obstructing a peace officer.

He was arraigned on the charges and pleaded not guilty. He later posted bail on Nov. 13 and his public defender, Scott B. Johnson, filed a motion to suppress evidence Dec. 13. Dec. 27, the state argued against the motion and said the arrest was a good one.

At a Jan. 28, 2025, hearing on the motion, Knippling didn’t show up and Johnson didn’t know where his client was. The next day, Probation Officer Vanessa Williamson filed a report of violation because Knippling hadn’t checked in since Dec. 11.

Cuffe ordered a $250,000 bench warrant for his arrest. 

Knippling also didn’t show for a March 17 pre-trial hearing.