BENEWAH COUNTY, Idaho -- A North Idaho man said he was forced to spend over a day and a half in jail because of an error.
Earlier in July, deputies arrested David Renfro at his home near Plummer while looking for marijuana. The deputies said they had received a tip that he was selling pot out of his place. After running a background check, deputies told the man he was a felon and could not bond out of jail. But, that was a mistake and Renfro was not a felon at all.
"They're saying, 'Well we found marijuana in your house. Would you like to talk to us?' And I said 'No, I want an attorney.' Then he handcuffed me and threw me in the car," he said.
Renfro said he has never sold pot out of his home but said he works for a marijuana farm in the Spokane area. At his home, he admits, was the residue of some marijuana oil he said he would rub on his elbows for pain. While at the jail, Renfro said he was getting ready to post bail on the marijuana charges when a deputy ran his name in a database.
"He did a background check and he says that 'You're a four-time felon.' And I said 'I am not a felon.' He says, ‘Oh, yes you are.’ I said 'No I'm not,'" he said.
Deputies also found a gun in Renfro's car during their search. With that, Renfro said a deputy charged him with being a felon in possession of a firearm, meaning he could not post bail until he saw a judge. That was on a Saturday. After all of Sunday in jail and most of Monday, Renfro says he saw a judge for his first appearance. There, the judge said he was not a felon and he needed to be released. Upset, Renfro collected his guns from evidence and went back home.
The Benewah County Sheriff Dave Resser said a search of Renfro's history showed that he had been charged with felony burglary decades ago in California. What the department's database did not show was that the charge was later amended to a misdemeanor. This did not become apparent until Renfro's first appearance. Resser told another news outlet that Renfro's charge of being a felon was "an honest mistake” but said that his deputies were acting appropriately using what information they had at the time.
"All I asked them for was an apology, and they refused to do that. That's it. Give me an apology, let everything go. But they were like, 'Nope,'" Renfro said.
He wonders why it appeared in a database that he was a felon to begin with.
"I just think it should have been done a better way," he said.
Renfro has a court date in August regarding the marijuana charges and said he is working on retaining a lawyer.