Local attorney caught after allegedly snorting Adderall in casino parking lot
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FORT HALL — A Pocatello attorney was arrested Thursday after he allegedly resisted officers during his arrest for drug possession at a Fort Hall Casino.
Cody Cottam, 35, is charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, and misdemeanors for possession of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance, and resisting or obstructing officers.
According to the Idaho State Bar, Cottam has been an attorney in Pocatello since October 2017.
Cottam is also a former Senior Deputy Public defender with the Bannock County Public Defender’s office, according to court minutes from a Bannock County Commissioner’s meeting in July 2023.
Court documents say Bingham County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the Fort Hall Casino on Thursday morning around 1:09 a.m. after the casino security reported that they had a video of a “male snorting a substance while in his car.”
When deputies arrived, Fort Hall Police officers and casino security were with a man in the parking lot identified as Cottam.
Cottam reportedly admitted to “snorting his own Adderall.” When deputies asked to see the Adderall pills, Cottam allegedly stated he had just “sniffed his last one.”
Deputies asked for consent to search the car, and Cottam refused. From looking on the outside, deputies say they saw “two colorful boxes in the center console” with “what looked like a marijuana logo to be on one box.”
Deputies say they also saw an orange pill bottle, full of pills but without a label. Cottam agreed to give deputies the pill bottle, and also handed them a “prescription label that he claimed belonged on the bottle,” according to deputy reports.
Deputies say Cottam showed them an app on his phone with a list of medications; however, there was no information as to who the medications were for, or for when the prescription was valid.
According to reports, deputies noticed “two distinctly different types of pills in the bottle” that were later found to be hydrochloride and amphetamine.
Deputies say the prescription label was for hydrochloride, and not for amphetamine, giving them probable cause to search the car.
Although the court documents do say Cottam had “hydrochloride”, it is possible officers meant “hydrocodone.” EastIdahoNews.com has reached out to the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office for clarification.
When deputies tried to search the car and asked Cottam for his keys, he reportedly refused, saying, “I’m not going to comply with that.”
Cottam reportedly continued to argue with deputies about whether they had probable cause or not, causing deputies to grab his left arm and put it behind his back to detain him.
Court documents say Cottam “tensed up and continued to resist by trying to pull his arm back.” Another deputy came to assist, and deputies were able to handcuff and search Cottam, reportedly finding his phone, wallet, keys, cigarettes, and a lighter.”
Deputies say they told Cottam to sit in the car multiple times, but he refused and continued arguing.
Eventually, a deputy “had to push (Cottam) into the seat, and lift his legs up into the car.”
During the search of Cottam’s car, deputies reportedly found a box of “Polk A Dot” Magic Mushroom Belgian Chocolate, which contains psychedelic mushrooms, and a “Half and Half” box containing a THC vape.
According to the police report, deputies found 18 hydrochloride pills, two amphetamine pills, 18.25 grams of the psychedelic mushroom chocolate, and two grams of THC in the vape.
Cottam was booked into the Bingham County Jail, but was sent to pretrial supervision on his “own recognizance” that same day.
He is expected to appear for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 7. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and disciplinary action from the Idaho State Bar.
Though Cottam has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Cottam worked for the Bingham County Prosecutor’s Office. This has been corrected, to state that he worked for the Bannock County Public Defender’s Office. We apologize for the error.