Boise man involved in armed Nampa standoff gets stiff sentence for drug, firearm crimes

This is a breaking news story. Check back to idahostatesman.com for updates.
To sign up for breaking news alerts, click here.

A Boise man was sentenced to up to life in prison for various drug crimes including the manufacturing and distribution of fentanyl, Ada County prosecutors said.

Mason Yant, 42, was sentenced Wednesday by 4th District Judge Peter Barton to serve up to life in prison, with 20 years fixed before he is eligible for parole, according to a news release Friday from The Ada County Prosecutor’s Office. Eight other people were also charged.

After several months of investigation, officers from the Boise and Nampa police departments went to a Nampa home last September in the 600 block of Lone Star Road, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting. Yant was listed then as a fugitive from the Idaho Department of Correction, and Nampa police said he had a $1 million warrant for arrest on a charge of conspiracy to traffic heroin.

Yant refused to leave, and a nine-hour standoff began.

During the standoff, Yant fired his gun toward at least four officers, though no officers were injured, the news release said. He was eventually taken into custody.

Throughout the investigation “significant quantities” of contraband and drugs were seized, according to the news release, including 8.8 pounds of powder fentanyl; 11 pounds of fentanyl pills disguised as fake Oxycontin; 0.44 pounds of heroin; trafficking weight of both methamphetamine and cocaine; 11 firearms; and over $20,000.

Yant pleaded guilty in March as part of a plea agreement to conspiracy to traffic heroin, conspiracy to deliver and manufacture a controlled substance, and unlawful possession of a firearm — all felonies.

As a part of the agreement, a multitude of other charges including conspiracy to traffic cocaine, conspiracy to traffic meth, and assault or battery upon certain personnel were dismissed by the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office, according to online court records.

“Those looking to distribute illegal, dangerous drugs in our community should be deterred by this sentence Judge Barton handed down,” Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts said in the news release. “This investigation led by Boise Police and Nampa Police detectives undoubtedly removed hundreds of doses of dangerous and deadly drugs from our community. These partnerships are crucial in our mission of public safety.”

Court records detail criminal cases of coconspirators

Of the eight other people who were charged, five have pleaded guilty to various drug crimes, according to court records. The other three have hearings set for June.

Four of the five people who pleaded guilty are expected to be sentenced this summer, and one is already serving a prison sentence. All five accepted plea deals from the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office in the last few months, and in exchange for their pleas, multiple drug-related charges will be dropped.

David McDaniel, 51, of Boise, pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to deliver and/or manufacture controlled substance and trafficking meth as part of a plea deal, according to a settlement sheet obtained by the Statesman. He is expected to be sentenced on July 14.

Tonya J. Cantrell, 31, of Boise, also accepted a plea deal in May. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deliver and/or manufacture controlled substance and conspiracy to traffic meth, according to a settlement sheet obtained by the Statesman. Cantrell is expected to be sentenced on July 15.

Zane Hunter, 42, of Boise, also pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to deliver and/or manufacturer controlled substance as part of a plea deal, according to a settlement sheet obtained by the Statesman. He is expected to be sentenced on July 7.

Dragos Ungurean, 40, of Boise, pleaded guilty to conspiracy in April to deliver/manufacture fentanyl and the unlawful possession of a firearm, according to a settlement sheet obtained by the Statesman. Ungurean is expected to be sentenced June 15.

The plea agreements require all of the defendants to provide truthful testimony if they are called as witnesses in any of the other conspirators’ proceedings, according to the “special terms” section of their respective settlement sheets.

Christina Bergstrom, 31, is

in prison at the Pocatello Woman’s Correctional Center on four felonies: conspiracy to commit drug trafficking, conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance, delivery of a controlled substance, and possession of a controlled substance, according to multiple court records.

Bergstrom is eligible for parole in October 2026, according to online records from the Idaho Department of Correction.