Hillbroom awaits sentencing in federal court

SANDPOINT — A Hope man pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday to charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Larry Junior Hillbroom, 37, was arrested on July 15, 2020, in Hope by federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents, according to court documents. He is being held at the Bonner County Jail while awaiting sentencing in federal court in Coeur d’Alene on Feb. 8, 2022.

In 2015 and 2016, law enforcement authorities indicate that Hillbroom conspired with three other Hope residents, Morgan Kenney, Zachary Craig Carlson, and Sean Robert Wathen. Kenney and Carlson previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced to four years and four months, and three years and a month respectively in federal prison. Wathen has pleaded not guilty to the conspiracy and is set to go to trial in November 2021.

The four were charged with trafficking methamphetamine in Guam and Palau, according to court records. Hillbroom and others used several different methods to smuggle the drugs, including the use of shampoo containers and carrying the substance on their person. Once in Guam or Palau, Hillbroom would coordinate with locals to sell the methamphetamine.

Hillbroom was pinpointed as the organizer of a drug smuggling operation by two drug smugglers in 2016 in which 160 grams of meth were confiscated at the Palau International Airport. Hillbroom was later arrested in Palau, escaped, was rearrested, and then released on his own recognizance according to court records.

In a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Monday, credit for charges against the traffickers was due to a joint investigation, which included the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office, DEA, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, and Coeur d’Alene Police Department among others.

Hillbroom received a $100 million inheritance left by late DHL Worldwide Express shipping co-founder Larry Hillblom. Three other children from southeast Asia were also confirmed as the children of Hillblom.

He acquired a spacious home in Hope valued at three-quarters of a million dollars and went about relocating nearly two dozen relatives from Palau to the Panhandle, according to a 2016 report by UK publication, the Daily Mail. DEA agents arrested Hillbroom, Kenney, and Wathen after raiding the home in 2020.

Trafficking charges in Palau range from 25-50 years. In Idaho, conspiracy charges against Hillbroom could fetch a minimum of 10 years imprisonment if convicted. Hillbroom has 31 previous court cases going back to 2002.