ST. ANTHONY — Prosecutors have reduced felony sexual assault charges to misdemeanors against a woman in the process of transitioning to a man.

Katie “Kade” Jane Pughe, 22, was charged with two felony counts of forcible penetration by use of a foreign object for sexually assaulting a woman lying in bed next to a young child in May.

At a hearing on Sept. 10, Pughe signed a plea agreement with Fremont County Prosecutor Marcia Murdoch that stipulates the charges be amended to three misdemeanor counts of sexual battery. Pughe admitted to sexually assaulting the woman in multiple ways.

Investigators were made aware of the incident on May 15 after being called to Madison Memorial Hospital for the report of a rape, according to court documents.

RELATED | Transgender man accused of sexually assaulting woman

“(The victim) stated that the whole time this encounter was happening, she was trying to not make a lot of noise because she was scared that Pughe was intoxicated (and) that (Pughe would) hit or hurt (the toddler),” according to court documents.

In a recorded phone call, the victim confronted Pughe and said “it was basically rape,” according to court documents. During the call, “Pughe stated that he thought they were role-playing.”

Each misdemeanor count of sexual battery is punishable with up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Pughe is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 9 by magistrate Judge Faren Z. Eddins.

Pughe remains held in the Madison County Jail women’s facility on $50,000 bail.

The Associated Press Style Guide states transgender is “an adjective that describes people whose gender identity does not match the sex or gender they were identified as having at birth … (and) does not require what are often known as sex reassignment or gender confirmation procedures.” The AP recommends writers use a person’s preferred pronouns.

REXBURG — Detectives are asking for help in finding a man they say stole a credit card and bought over $1,000 of items.

The card was stolen Friday and used in six different businesses between Rexburg and Driggs, according to Rexburg Police Captain Gary Hagen.

“He used the card between 5:15 p.m. and 10:15 p.m.,” Hagen tells EastIdahoNews.com. “He made multiple purchases at five stores and one convenience store.”

Photos from surveillance cameras show the suspect was wearing a black hat, black jacket, a blue T-shirt and blue jeans.

Anyone with information on the theft or the man involved is asked to contact the Rexburg Police Department at (208) 359-3008.

IDAHO FALLS — An Idaho Falls man is behind bars after he continually tried to meet up with a woman he allegedly stalked for over a year.

Marty Morrow, 41, repeatedly texted a woman who formally acted as his counselor and wanted to meet up at a store, according to an affidavit of probable of cause obtained by EastIdahoNews.com. Earlier this month, he drove to the Big Lots on East 17th Street where Idaho Falls Police officers surrounded him and found a loaded handgun under the driver’s seat of his vehicle.

Morrow is a convicted felon and was charged with felony unlawful possession of a firearm and felony first-degree stalking.

At the time of the arrest, court documents show a no-contact order was in place between Morrow and the victim after he threw a can of peas at her window on July 7 and shattered the glass. In the days following, Morrow called and texted the woman, court documents say.

Police cited Morrow with misdemeanor second-degree stalking and he was released because Idaho law states an officer can not arrest a suspect for a misdemeanor unless they witness the crime.

On Sept. 3, the victim received several strange text messages from a man wishing to speak with her. He was later identified as Morrow and mentioned he saw a website where she was listed as a counselor. He asked to meet her at Target on Hitt Road and continually told her to make sure “no cops” were there.

“I don’t care if u think I’m Marty. Cause he’s the one that will get into trouble,” the text from Morrow said. “So I know the cops are going to be at target. Your really just a little baby girl that can’t talk to someone or deal with her problem by herself. Like a woman should.”

The victim told police she was positive the text came from Morrow because he called her and recognized the voice.

Police tried to locate Morrow and on Sept. 6, the victim called police and said he texted her “I see u” from a new number. The texts continued throughout the day.

“Being a therapist u should no how trying to clear up my head will help me get better,” one of the text messages read. “But u know u ignoring me can make my head worse.”

Detectives write in their report that over the next week, Morrow created a fake Facebook profile using the victim’s photo. He posed as the victim in the profile attempting to “pick fights” with others.

On Sept. 13, police knew Morrow intended to meet the victim at a bench in front of Big Lots. With officers watching in the parking lot, Morrow pulled up in a white Chevy Cavalier. Police cornered him and placed him in custody.

Detectives say they found a loaded .45 caliber handgun under the driver’s seat and his phone showed he had logged into several apps linking him to the victim. The phone’s Facebook app showed Marrow logged into the fake Facebook profile of the victim.

Morrow’s phone showed messages of him asking people to have sex, according to court documents, and a Google timeline showed Morrow was in the location of the victim’s employer and home on Sept. 10.

Morrow has a lengthy criminal history. He was convicted in 2007 of felony delivery of a controlled substance. On March 7, he failed to return to the Bonneville County Jail after checking out for work release. He was serving time on a 60-day sentence for a misdemeanor malicious injury to property charge after he smashed a woman’s glass door with a bike tire in December.

Idaho court records list over 20 criminal cases dating back to 1991.

Felony unlawful possession of a firearm is punishable with up to five years in prison and felony first-degree stalking holds up to 10 years in prison.

Morrow remains held in the Bonneville County Jail on $100,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 27.

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — The 24-year-old man wanted after an Amber Alert was issued for a girl in Mountain Home has since been charged with a sex crime in Ada County, according to the Boise Police Department.

Police arrested Erick Miramontes Anaya, of Boise, on Monday morning on suspicion of felony sexual battery of a child, ages 16 or 17. He remains in custody at the Ada County Jail.

The warrant was issued after Ada County prosecutors filed a charge following an investigation that began on June 30, according to Boise PD.

RELATED: Amber alert cancelled after authorities locate the parties involved

That same day, Mountain Home police were investigating a missing teenager with developmental delays, and that resulted in the Amber Alert. Information was relayed to Ada County dispatch, which sent Boise police officers to check on a subject in the 1200 block of S. Michigan Ave in Boise.

Police said they made contact with Miramontes Anaya at the address and also found the teen girl. Officers ensured the safety of the girl and then began an investigation, which was routed to Ada County prosecutors.

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — A 37-year-old man died of an apparent suicide Tuesday in prison before going to trial on accusations that he repeatedly sexually abused a 10-year-old and had a role in kidnapping a woman and chaining her in a barn.

Chancey Lee Baker was found hanging at the Idaho State Correctional Institution in Kuna around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. He’d been in the Idaho Department of Correction’s custody since June 28, when he was transferred from the Owyhee County Jail, according to IDOC spokesman Jeff Ray.

Baker was being housed at IDOC because he had violated his parole on previous felony convictions for sex offenses. He was due back in court on Oct. 25 in the sexual abuse and kidnapping cases.

Ray explained that Baker died in what IDOC calls a “search enclosure.”

“Baker was in the process of being moved from one housing unit to another,” Ray said in an email. “Inmates are temporarily held in search enclosures, where they are searched while being transferred.”

He was not on suicide watch at the prison and apparently used clothing to hang himself, Ray said.

Baker was convicted of felony failing to register as a sex offender in Canyon County in 2014. He was sentenced for felony injury to child in Owyhee County in 2005, a sentence that ran concurrently to a 2004 Canyon County conviction on lewd conduct with a child under age 16.

He was released on parole on Aug. 15, 2017, and was living in Owyhee County when the latest alleged crimes occurred. In February, the Idaho Statesman wrote about Baker’s case because he was accused of repeatedly sexually abusing a 10-year-old.

Owyhee County Sheriff Perry Grant told the Statesman that he initially requested that 56 charges be filed against Baker, but the prosecutor filed 21. In court that month, a judge found that there was probable cause for 10 of those 21 charges, including eight counts of lewd conduct with a child younger than age 16 and two counts of sexual abuse of a child younger than age 16.

Additionally, Baker was awaiting trial for his alleged role in the kidnapping of a 36-year-old woman, who was the mother of the 10-year-old.

Owyhee County sheriff’s detectives said that on Dec. 14, 2018, Baker and his roommate, Mikal Christensen, 24, kidnapped a Homedale woman from her mobile home on Lootens Lane and then left her chained in a barn for eight days. Christensen, who has a felony conviction for attempted injury to child in Minidoka County, spent time in prison with Baker.

According to probable cause affidavits reviewed at the time by the Statesman, Baker and Christensen taped the woman’s hands and legs, and tied her up with rope. They were accused of taking her to a nearby milk barn, with blankets on the walls and a chain hooked to one wall, with a lock on the end.

They chained the woman’s leg to the wall and kept her captive until Dec. 22, according to the affidavit, when she was able to escape by breaking the lock with the use of tweezers and a drill bit.

Christensen told police that Baker was the “mastermind” behind the kidnapping, according to reports.

Tressa Sipes, 41, who also lives in the area, was charged as an accessory to second-degree kidnapping and with burglary. Authorities claimed that Sipes knew about the kidnapping and failed to report it.

Sipes and Christensen have both pleaded not guilty and their next court appearance is set for 9 a.m. Friday in Owyhee County.

IDOC is still investigating Baker’s death.

BLACKFOOT — A Blackfoot man has been charged with four counts of video voyeurism and one count of burglary after police found over 300 pieces of lingerie and criminal video evidence at his house.

Blackfoot Police Department officials believe Kory Ray West, 34, was entering women’s homes, stealing their underwear and videotaping them. He was arrested Wednesday in Bear Lake County.

Police and Bingham County Sheriff’s Office began investigating West on Sept. 15. A search warrant was obtained and detectives searched West’s Blackfoot home, where they discovered “in excess of 300 various types and sizes of female lingerie.”

The items included children and adult sizes of bras and underwear, Blackfoot Police Capt. Gordon Croft tells EastIdahoNews.com. Detectives say the lingerie, along with video evidence, indicates there are additional victims.

“We are very concerned there may be other victims out there and we want them to contact us,” Croft said.

West is currently in custody in Bear Lake County on $75,000 bail for outstanding warrants but will be returned to the Bingham County Jail.

West has a criminal history, including multiple felony drug charges. Additional details about how police were led to him were not released Wednesday.

Anyone who feels that may be a victim or has information on this crime is asked to contact the Blackfoot Police Department at (208) 785-1235 or the Bingham County Sheriff Office at (208) 785-4400.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyoming — A man accused of threatening to kill 20 people in Boise over an alleged “emotional affair” was arrested in Yellowstone National Park.

Joshua James Mjoness, 44, of Christine, North Dakota, was arrested on Sept. 18, after his wife told authorities Mjoness had threatened to kill the man she’d had an emotional affair with or kill everyone in the man’s office if she didn’t tell him exactly who the man was.

According to federal court documents, Mjoness believed the man worked in an office in Boise and was on his way there when he was arrested.

Mjoness allegedly texted his wife saying, “his full information, or the entire office in the next 24 hours. Your choice.” He later sent her a photo of the 9mm Ruger handgun he’d bought with a text message that said “up to you,” authorities said.

Shortly after he allegedly sent a text message to his wife’s brother, saying “Tell your sister to send me a picture of (the man) and his information. Either two people die or 20 die.”

Law enforcement tracked Mjoness’ cellphone to the area of Pelican Creek near the East Entrance Road of Yellowstone National Park. Park rangers were on the lookout for Mjoness and given a description of his vehicle and his license plate number.

Park rangers pulled Mjoness over at the Old Buffalo Picnic Area, where he was taken into custody.

According to documents, rangers found a handgun, 50 rounds of ammunition and marijuana. They also noted that they smelled alcohol on Mjoness’ breath. He was initially charged with driving under the influence.

Mjoness is now facing federal charges of illegal gun possession, making threats and transporting a firearm over state lines to commit a crime.

CLEARFIELD — A long-haul truck driver from Ogden was arrested Wednesday in connection to at least nine alleged rapes in Utah and Wyoming in the 1990s and early 2000s, according to KSL.com.

Mark Douglas Burns, 69, is charged with eight counts of aggravated sexual assault, six counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of aggravated burglary, and one count of aggravated robbery, all first-degree felonies.

Charges filed in Davis County’s 2nd District Court years ago against a then-John Doe for alleged assaults in Clearfield in 2000 and 2001 were linked Wednesday to Burns’ name. Additionally, DNA evidence has led investigators to believe Burns perpetrated at least seven other attacks in Utah and Wyoming throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, according to a statement from the Clearfield City Police Department.

Investigators in different jurisdictions linked the “incomprehensible, brutal and methodical attacks” after commonalities were discovered between them, the police department said.

Multiple alleged victims reported being bound, being sexually assaulted repeatedly over a period of time, their attacker smelling like alcohol, and their attacker using a gun or knife. Other similarities included the fact that multiple victims lived in apartment buildings, and that their attackers were suspected of using a sliding glass door.

Additionally, the police department wrote, “family members were forced to watch the violent and repeated attacks.”

Burns is accused of assaulting women in Rock Springs, Wyoming, in 1991; in Riverdale in 1992; in Ogden in 1993; in Clearfield in 1994 and 1995; in Laramie, Wyoming, in 1996; in Layton in 1997; and in Clearfield in 2000 and 2001. And investigators say there may be more attacks that have not yet been linked to Burns.

Courtesy Clearfield Police Department

“Because of the grievous and brutal nature of these crimes, detectives believe there are more victims and do not believe Mr. Burns suddenly stopped committing such heinous crimes since 2001,” the police department said in the statement.

The victim in the 2000 attack in Clearfield told police she was sleeping on July 29 when a man woke her up and told her not to say anything or he would “cut her throat,” according to charging documents. The woman said the man blindfolded her and repeatedly raped her before tying her wrists and feet and leaving.

Almost one year later, on May 22, 2001, another woman in Clearfield reported that a man wearing gloves and a nylon stocking over his head came into her bedroom while she and her husband were sleeping, charging documents say. The woman told police the man pointed a gun at the couple and tied up and blindfolded the woman’s husband, then asked the woman who else was home.

When the woman told the man that her brother and her 19-year-old daughter were home, the man forced the woman to show him where they were sleeping, according to charging documents. The man then brought everyone to the master bedroom and tied their wrists and ankles together before repeatedly assaulting the woman and her daughter, the charging documents say.

The man also pointed a gun at and tied up the woman’s son, who came home from work while the attack was taking place, the woman told investigators. The attacker reportedly demanded money from the family before leaving.

Police began investigating Burns after DNA led genetic genealogy consultant Barbara Rae-Venter to a “close relative” of the then-unidentified attacker, according to charging documents. Police learned in an interview with that relative earlier this month that Burns lived in Utah and was still working as a long-haul trucker.

Investigators then analyzed DNA collected from items in Burns’ garbage can and found that his DNA matched the DNA profile of the attacker in multiple unsolved sexual assault cases.

Burns was convicted of rape in North Carolina in 1974 and served a “lengthy prison sentence” there before moving to Utah, according to charging documents. Court documents from North Carolina confirm Burns was convicted of first-degree rape in Onslow County.

Investigators are encouraging any other potential victims to come forward, and urging all other local departments in the West to check their cold case files or any rape kits that have not been entered into the CODIS database.

This article appeared on KSL.com. It is used here with permission.

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Three truck drivers who were arrested and initially charged with felony drug trafficking were sentenced Thursday to unsupervised probation, fines and restitution after their charges all were dropped to misdemeanors — even after two of them had already pleaded guilty to lesser felonies.

Denis V. Palamarchuk, 36, was charged with marijuana trafficking in January after 6,701 pounds of a “green, leafy substance” were found in the truck he was driving for VIP Transporter LLC of Portland. Palamarchuk claimed from the beginning that the substance was legal industrial hemp rather than marijuana. He pleaded not guilty in April.

In Idaho, any amount of THC in a product is still considered illegal, so there is no legal distinction between hemp and marijuana, despite the federal farm bill’s legalization of hemp last December. A bill that would have allowed hemp trucks to cross state lines failed to get enough support in the Idaho Legislature in April.

RELATED: Trucker faces felony for hauling what he said was hemp through Idaho. Now he’ll go to trial.

It was April 2018, before the farm bill passed, when two other men were arrested while hauling hemp through the state. Erich Eisenhart, 25, of Oregon, and Andrew D’Addario, 27, of Colorado, pleaded guilty to charges of felony possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver after traveling through Idaho from a licensed industrial hemp farm in Colorado. They were on their way to Oregon.

Neither Eisenhart nor D’Addario was present in court Thursday, when their charges were reduced to misdemeanors. The two men were allowed to withdraw their guilty pleas to the felony charges and enter new plea agreements, according to Scott Bandy, Ada County deputy prosecutor.

“The way that the farm bill is written, it leaves some gaps in implementation,” Bandy said when explaining the prosecutors’ decision to reduce the charges to misdemeanors.

Palamarchuk pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of failure to provide supporting documents in driver’s possession, as he did not have a signed bill of lading. He was granted a withheld judgment by Judge Michael Oths and given one year of unsupervised probation. He must also pay a $500 fine and $1,860 in restitution.

RELATED: Prosecutor responds to petition to drop felony charges against hemp truckers

Palamarchuk also received a 180-day jail sentence; he was given credit for five days served and the other 175 were suspended.

Palamarchuk, who drove in from Portland to be in court — and had a Russian interpreter — chose not to comment after sentencing.

“He was caught in the middle of a state law … he was operating under the assumption it was legal,” said his attorney, James Ball. “This is a very good result for him.”

At their plea hearing in April 2019, Eisenhart and D’Addario also both said they did not realize that the cargo they had was illegal.

“I possessed plants of the genus cannabis with the intention to deliver it to another party. I now know that all species under the genus cannabis are illegal and considered marijuana in this state,” Eisenhart said then.

Eisenhart and D’Addario also were granted withheld judgments by Oths, and each was given two years of unsupervised probation and a $1,000 fine. They must pay a combined restitution of $4,138.73.

Both men were given 180-day jail sentences as well, with credit granted for two days served. The other 178 days were suspended.

In May, Rep. Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, and Rep. Dorothy Moon, R-Stanley, delivered a petition with more than 13,000 signatures on it urging the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office to drop felony charges against all three truck drivers.

BLACKFOOT — A Blackfoot man used a smoke alarm camera to record women and at least one man using a restroom in a home over the past year.

That’s according to a probable cause statement obtained by EastIdahoNews.com in the case against 34-year-old Kory West. He is charged with four counts of video voyeurism and one count of felony burglary.

The affidavit shows investigators found “several hundred pairs” of used women’s underwear, 50 to 70 individual bras, 45 pieces of women’s underwear that were altered to fit a male, two laptop computers, SD cards and a “large amount” of sex toys in West’s bedroom.

He had been living in the basement of a home for the past year and was supposed to do work around the house in exchange for paying rent to the owner, court documents say.

On Sept. 15, Blackfoot Police officers were called to the home after a woman living there found a video on West’s laptop showing her mother inside the bathroom.

RELATED: Police found videos and over 300 pieces of stolen lingerie in his house. Now they’re looking for victims.

“(Kory) recently left and had refused to come back and unlock the basement bedroom,” a Blackfoot Police detective wrote in court documents. “(Two female residents) entered the locked room and located several of their own articles of clothing including bras, underwear, dresses, leggings, a TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) unit and sex toys. They also located a grey HP laptop inside Kory’s bedroom.”

Police found a white smoke alarm containing a video camera with an SD card slot in the bathroom. The women were unaware the alarm had a recording device and detectives seized it, along with a second laptop, for evidence.

Several videos from inside the bathroom were on the laptop, according to investigators. One allegedly showed West in front of the camera making sure it was in focus. Another showed him looking into the lens as if he had just adjusted it.

Other videos showed two women and a man using the bathroom at different times. In one video, detectives wrote a young child’s voice can be heard that “sounds like they are in the tub area.” The child is never seen but one of the women is walking around the bathroom.

Detectives spoke with another woman on Sept. 23 who had West doing work on her home in August. When she left the house at that time, her bedroom was locked but when she returned, she told police it was unlocked and items were missing.

Those articles of clothing and another item belonging to the woman were found in West’s bedroom, according to police.

West was arrested in Bear Lake County on Wednesday and transported to the Bingham County Jail. He was arraigned Thursday morning and is being held on $75,000 bail. He will be in court again on Oct. 10.

Investigators tell EastIdahoNews.com the large quantity of lingerie indicates there are additional victims. Anyone missing items or who has information on this crime is asked to contact the Blackfoot Police Department at (208) 785-1235 or the Bingham County Sheriff Office at (208) 785-4400.

The following is a news release from the Idaho Falls Police Department.

IDAHO FALLS — On Sunday, Sept. 22, shortly before midnight, an Idaho Falls Police Officer observed a vehicle driving on John Adams Parkway. Within a short time of the officer observing the vehicle, the driver failed to maintain the lane of travel, driving down the center median area and crossing the median into other lanes.

The officer performed a stop of the vehicle as it turned on the 25th E. The vehicle pulled into a nearby parking lot and stopped, but began rolling backward before the officer exited his patrol car.

The officer made contact with the driver, immediately detected the odor of alcohol, and instructed the driver to put his vehicle in park.

The driver, Jimmy Seay, a 42-year-old Idaho Falls resident, was asked to step out of the car to perform a field sobriety test. Seay had a hand behind his back and appeared to be reaching for something as he exited the vehicle.

Due to this behavior, the officer detained Seay and placed him in handcuffs to verify what Seay was reaching for. The officer observed an unopened can of beer in the drivers’ seat and a loaded handgun between the drivers’ seat and the center passenger seat. Seay was identified as a convicted felon and is not allowed to be in possession of a firearm.

Seay failed the field sobriety tests and refused to provide a breath or blood sample. A search warrant for a blood test was obtained and is pending.

Seay was arrested for felony driving under the influence due to prior DUIs, concealed carry while under the influence and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was transported to the Bonneville County Jail.

The following is a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho.

BOISE — Artur Pupko, 28, of Boise, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to trafficking in counterfeit goods, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis and Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced Thursday. Sentencing for Pupko has been set for Dec. 17 before U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.

According to court records, Pupko conspired with others to operate a multi-million dollar scheme wherein they sold counterfeit cellphones and cellphone accessories on Amazon.com and eBay.com that were misrepresented as new and genuine Apple and Samsung products.

Using at least six different corporate entities, Pupko smuggled counterfeit cellphones and cellphone accessories in bulk from manufacturers in Hong Kong and China, repackaged the products in the Treasure Valley, and then individually resold to consumers online as genuine and new in order to deceive customers. Also as part of his plea, Pupko admitted that, on three different occasions in October through December 2017, his company sold counterfeit Apple and/or Samsung products to law enforcement.

The charge of trafficking in counterfeit goods is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a 5 million dollar fine, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years.

This case is the result of a coordinated investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, and United States Postal Inspection Service. Senior Trial Attorney Timothy Flowers with the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christian Nafzger and Katherine Horwitz prosecuted the case.

The following is a news release and mugshot from the Idaho Falls Police Department.

IDAHO FALLS — On Sept. 19 at approximately 3 a.m., an Idaho Falls Police Officer performed a traffic stop on a vehicle near the intersection of 1st Street and Woodruff Avenue with extremely dark window tint. The driver of the vehicle was identified as Adam Pelton, a 31-year-old Idaho Falls resident.

After checking the darkness of the tint and finding that it was in violation, the officer asked Pelton to step out of the vehicle to speak to the officer. While speaking with the officer, a bag fell from Pelton’s sweatshirt which when examined contained several smaller bags of methamphetamine and a bag of marijuana.

Officers placed Pelton under arrest and conducted a search of his person which yielded an additional baggie of methamphetamine and $3,660 in cash. A search of the vehicle was conducted and officers located a .40 caliber pistol in a backpack on the front seat along with ammunition and two magazines.

Pelton was on felony probation and is not allowed to be in possession of a firearm.

A total of 98.5 grams of methamphetamine and 8.3 grams of marijuana was seized from this traffic stop. Pelton was arrested for drug trafficking in methamphetamine, unlawful possession of a firearm and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.

BLACKFOOT — A judge placed a local man on a rider Wednesday after he admitted to having a sexual relationship with a teenage girl.

Tristton Randy Brumfield, 22, was sentenced by District Judge Jon Shindurling to three to 15 years in prison, after pleading guilty to felony lewd conduct with a child. Shindurling opted to retain jurisdiction in the case and Brumfield will serve time with the Idaho Department of Correction.

Rider programs are where inmates receive intensive programming and education in hopes of rehabilitation over the course of six months to a year. Once a felon completes the program, they go before a judge. At that time, the judge decides whether to release the felon and put them on probation, or send them back to prison to complete their sentence.

RELATED: What is a rider?

As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors dropped a second felony count of lewd conduct. Brumfield and his brother, 25-year-old Bryce Brumfield, were summoned to appear in court in March after the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the men for lewd conduct with the same 15-year-old girl over the summer of 2018.

RELATED: Brothers who admitted to having sex with the same 15-year-old girl charged with lewd conduct

In September 2018, a social worker from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare told investigators about a possible case involving sexual abuse of a minor. During an investigation by deputies, multiple witnesses said they observed both brothers having sex with the victim at different times, according to court documents obtained by EastIdahoNews.com

Detectives spoke with Tristton and Bryce, who both admitted to having sex with the girl knowing she was a teenager. Under Idaho law, a minor cannot consent to having sex with an adult so prosecutors charged both men with two felony counts of lewd conduct.

RELATED: Man accused of lewd conduct with minor arrested for failing to appear in court

Bryce Brumfield is charged with two felony counts of lewd conduct. He is scheduled for a jury trial on Oct. 22 and could face up to life in prison if convicted.

The following is a news release from Attorney General Lawrence Wasden.

PRESTON — Attorney General Lawrence Wasden has announced the manager of the Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District was sentenced Thursday after a jury convicted her of two counts of forgery in July.

Sixth District Judge Mitchell Brown sentenced 53-year-old Lyla A. Dettmer to concurrent four-year sentences. The court then suspended the sentences and placed Dettmer on three years probation. She was also sentenced to 45 days in jail, which can be served as house arrest. Finally, the judge ordered Dettmer to pay a $400 fine and court costs, and reserved the right to impose restitution at a later date.

An investigation revealed that Dettmer, in her role as the conservation district’s manager, made a series of filings in order to receive matching funds from the Idaho Soil and Water Conservation Commission. During that process, Dettmer forged signatures on supporting documents later submitted to the state commission.

The Office of the Attorney General investigated the case. Deputy Attorney General Jessica Kuehn of the OAG’s Special Prosecutions Unit prosecuted the case.

The following is a news release and mugshot from the Idaho Falls Police Department.

On Tuesday, Sept. 24, around 8 a.m., Idaho Falls Police Officers responded to the 1600 block of Hollipark Avenue for a report of a woman passed out in her vehicle. When officers arrived, they were able to locate the vehicle with a woman passed out in the driver’s seat.

The woman was identified as Megan Sasinouski, a 30-year-old female resident of Iona.

Officers were able to wake Sasinouski, who opened her door to speak with the officers. While speaking with Sasinouski, officers were able to clearly see a glass pipe and many new and used needles in the vehicle.

Officers asked Sasinouski to exit the vehicle at that time and performed a search of the vehicle.

Officers located a purse with what appeared to be a used needle sticking out of it. The purse contained additional new and used needles, multiple glass pipes and a bag of what appeared to be marijuana.

Officers also located a case which contained a scale and multiple small baggies containing what appeared to be methamphetamine. Additional items were found in the vehicle including additional methamphetamine, marijuana, heroin and paraphernalia. These items were all seized, tested and weighed.

A total of 1.1 grams of heroin, 13.6 grams of methamphetamine, and 28 grams of marijuana were found in Sasinouski’s possession.

Sasinouski was arrested on two counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of
marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia and taken to the Bonneville County Jail.

The following is a news release from Idaho Falls Police Department.

IDAHO FALLS – Idaho Falls police arrested a man on two counts of felony drug charges after reports that he was screaming loudly and acting irrationally, scaring other tenants.

On Monday, September 23, shortly after 9:00 a.m. Idaho Falls Police Officers responded to a business park at 685 South Woodruff Ave. to investigate a disturbance. The caller advised that a male was acting strange.

Officers arrived and could hear continued screaming and laughing and located a male, later identified as Cody Adams, in a back office. Adams was standing in the room next to a table with his back to the doorway and appeared to be hiding something in front of him.

Due to this behavior, an officer asked Adams to turn to face them and to step away from the table. As Adams was doing so, officers were able to see a syringe on the table in plain view. The syringe was filled with a dark liquid which was consistent with heroin, and was located next to additional items consistent with drug paraphernalia and illegal substances. The substances in the syringe and on the additional items tested positive for heroin with a combined total weight of 4.1 grams.

Adams was arrested for Felony Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and taken to the Bonneville County Jail.

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) – Three Boise residents who were accused of raping an 18-year-old in Kuna pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of battery and false imprisonment Friday and will not serve additional jail time.

Elias Lupango, Swedi Iyombelo and Mulanga Rashidi were initially charged with felony rape in February. However, because of problems with how their Miranda rights were administered by investigating Ada County sheriff’s deputies, in-custody interviews with the suspects were suppressed, making the case for felony rape difficult to prove, Ada County prosecutor Tanner Stellmon said.

RELATED | Four Boise teenagers arrested for suspected rape of an 18-year-old

“Because of these missteps, the defense was successful in suppressing evidence,” Stellmon said. “Without that evidence, my hands are somewhat tied.

“I could not go before a jury and present the element of rape.”

Each defendant was given four years of supervised probation. The suspects were sentenced to a year in jail but given credit for the 200 or so days they have served, and the remainder was suspended.

RELATED | Grand jury indicts 4 Boise defendants for suspected rape

Ulimwengu Lupango, 16, was initially charged as an adult but was expected to reach a similar plea agreement in juvenile court on Friday, prosecutors said. Juvenile court records are sealed.

Ada County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Patrick Orr said in a statement Friday that “one of our deputies made an error while telling two of the four suspects their Miranda rights in February when he told them they had a right to an attorney ‘in court’ — instead of just saying they had a right to an attorney. … It was an honest mistake that had a horrible consequence.”

The statement said the Sheriff’s Office has since done further training with deputies and detectives “so we will avoid ever making this mistake again.”

“While we feel the rape case was charged correctly, we realize that our procedural mistake led to the suppression of the evidence Ada County prosecutors needed to prosecute the felony case,” Orr said.

The criminal complaint at the time stated that the teens all had vaginal sex with the woman. The woman was “prevented from resistance due to an objectionable, reasonable belief that resistance would be futile or would result in violence,” according to the complaint.

Iyombelo allegedly reached out to the victim via social media to “hang out,” and sex was never discussed, according to the prosecutor. The victim eventually consented to sex with Iyombelo but then said no three times, the prosecutor said. The others then took turns having sex with the victim despite her resistance, according to authorities.

RELATED | Judge denies bond reduction requests for 3 teenagers accused of raping a Kuna woman

The victim said she felt as if she told them to stop, she was afraid they would kill her, the prosecutor said.

The suspects are refugees who came to Boise from Tanzania, though it is unclear whether that was their home country or they fled from another nation and ended up in a refugee camp in Tanzania. A Swahili interpreter was used in court proceedings.

Stellmon said the fact that felonies had to be reduced to misdemeanors does not change what the woman experienced.

“There is a fundamental right and desire with who you are going to be intimate with,” he said. “She felt like she did not have that choice.”

RELATED | 4 defendants in Kuna rape case appear in court; juvenile suspect to be tried as adult

Need help?

The Faces of Hope Victim Center is available for victims in need of emergency services at 417 S. 6th St. in Boise. Victims should call 911 in emergencies or call 208-577-4400 on weekdays during business hours. Faces of Hope provides free medical care and forensic examinations for victims, as well as assistance with filing police reports and mental health care.

Survivors who may need help are also encouraged to contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) – A 29-year-old Idaho Maximum Security Institution inmate in prison for aggravated assault and eluding a police officer died of an apparent suicide, prison officials reported Sunday. This is the second inmate in Idaho Department of Correction custody to die by suicide in the last week.

Jason Boyd Ivey of Hazelton was found hanging in his cell at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution at 3:53 p.m. Friday. He died in a Boise hospital around 11:30 a.m. Sunday, according to IDOC spokesman Jeff Ray.

It is unclear if Ivey was on suicide watch.

IDOC is still investigating Ivey’s death.

RELATED | Idaho inmate awaiting trial on kidnapping, child sex abuse charges dies by suicide

Earlier this week, a 37-year-old man died of an apparent suicide Tuesday in prison before going to trial on accusations that he repeatedly sexually abused a 10-year-old and had a role in kidnapping a woman and chaining her in a barn.

Chancey Lee Baker was found hanging at the Idaho State Correctional Institution in Kuna around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Idaho Statesman previously reported.

The following is a news release from the Chubbuck Police Department.

On Sept. 30 at 9:50 a.m. we received the report of a robbery in progress at the Wells Fargo Bank at 4195 Yellowstone Ave in Chubbuck. During the robbery, the suspect implied that he had a firearm; however, one was not displayed. Shortly after the robbery, the suspect left the area on foot.

Officers with the Chubbuck Police Department, along with the Pocatello Police and Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, responded to the area and located the suspect quickly.

Daniel Best was taken into custody at 9:55 a.m. Best is a 59-year-old who resides in Chubbuck.

This case is still in the very early stages of our investigation and we are unable to release any further information at this time.

We appreciate the cooperation between multiple law enforcement agencies in our area that provided quick assistance and brought the suspect into custody without any further incidents.