Hillbroom sent to federal prison for conspiracy

A Hope man has been sentenced to 96 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

According to evidence presented in court, in 2015 and 2016, Larry Junior Hillbroom, 37, conspired with others to smuggle methamphetamine through international airports between North Idaho and the Pacific Islands of Guam and Palau. Hillbroom and others used several different methods to smuggle the drugs, including shampoo containers and carrying the substance on their person. Once in Guam or Palau, Hillbroom would coordinate with locals to sell the methamphetamine. Law enforcement officers learned of the conspiracy and were able to investigate, ultimately arresting Hillbroom and his coconspirators.

Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ordered Hillbroom to pay a $2,000 fine and serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Hillbroom pleaded guilty to the charge on September 21, 2021.

Hillbroom was originally charged with Morgan Kenney, 36; Zachary Craig Carlson, 31; and Sean Robert Wathen, 50; all of Hope. Kenney and Carlson previously pleaded guilty and have already been sentenced to four years and four months, and three years and a month respectively in federal prison. Wathen pleaded not guilty to the conspiracy and is currently set for trial in May 2022.

U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez Jr. of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho commended the cooperative efforts of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bonner County Sheriff's Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Coeur d' Alene Police Department, Idaho State Police, U.S. Border Patrol, and the U.S. Marshals Service, which led to charges.

Hilbroom was arrested by DEA agents in Hope following a raid of the residence in July 2020.

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.

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

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.

Hillbroom has 31 previous court cases going back to 2002.