POCATELLO — Two local residents face up to life in prison if convicted of charges stemming from a recent drug bust where they were found in possession of a substantial amount of illegal narcotics, police say.

Kelsi Jo Poole and Austin A. O’Conner, both of Pocatello, have each been charged with trafficking fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine as well as unlawfully possessing a firearm as convicted felons, according to police and court records the Idaho State Journal recently obtained.

The charges against them are the result of an investigation involving Idaho State Police and Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, or HIDTA, program detectives.

That investigation culminated in the execution of a search warrant on Feb. 3 at a residence on Valley Road in Pocatello where detectives located more than 53 grams of fentanyl powder, over 26 grams of heroin, and more than 53 grams of meth, court records show.

Prior to executing the warrant, detectives conducted mobile surveillance and observed Poole and O’Connor arriving at the Valley Road residence in a white 2025 Dodge Durango with California plates, police said.

In addition to the narcotics, detectives found a stolen Ruger LCP .380 handgun inside the residence, according to court records. Both Poole and O’Connor are prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance, police said in the report. The handgun had been reported stolen out of Cassia County in February 2021, according to court records.

Poole during an interview with detectives admitted to traveling out of state and returning with illicit drugs, court records show. She told detectives she kept the firearm for protection after an attempted robbery at the residence in 2025 and that O’Connor had acquired the gun, police said. Field tests of the substances returned presumptive positive results for fentanyl, heroin and meth, according to court records.

O’Conner and Poole appeared before 6th District Magistrate Judge David W. Cousin for separate initial arraignment hearings on Feb. 4, where the charges against them were dismissed. The same charges were refiled on Feb. 17 and they both attended second arraignment hearings on that date. Their bonds were each set at $750,000.

They are both scheduled to appear in court again on March 3 for separate preliminary hearings. Prosecutors will attempt to present sufficient evidence to elevate their cases from magistrate to district court for trials.

The unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon charge is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

The meth trafficking charge carries a mandatory minimum of three years in prison and a $10,000 fine, the heroin trafficking charge carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a fine of no more than $15,000 and the fentanyl trafficking charge carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

This means both O’Conner and Pool each face a mandatory 23 years in prison if they are convicted of all three trafficking charges, which each carry a maximum penalty of up to life in prison and a fine of no more than $100,000.

Prosecutors have also filed notice that they intend to seek persistent violator enhancement penalties against both O’Conner and Pool, which could extend any sentence levied against them by no less than five years and up to life in prison.