Former CHS star awaits sentencing

COEUR d'ALENE - Kirk J. Gosch, a former standout baseball player at Coeur d'Alene High School who was twice drafted by a Major League Baseball team, will be sentenced Feb. 3 after being convicted on illegal drug charges.

Gosch, 30, was scheduled to be sentenced Friday, but the hearing was continued by 1st District Court Judge Benjamin Simpson after a presentence investigation report was late.

Gosch was found guilty by a jury in November on two counts of felony trafficking of marijuana from earlier in the year.

When he is sentenced, Gosch faces up to life in prison because of Idaho's persistent violator statute. Gosch had multiple previous felonies when he was arrested.

Gosch is currently in custody at Kootenai County jail.

In 2006, Gosch was sentenced for manufacturing a controlled substance, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, and possession of marijuana in excess of three ounces.

In that earlier case, a jury found Gosch converted marijuana into what authorities called "honey oil," a liquid form of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the active ingredient in marijuana.

In 1999, he was named an All-USA Today honorable mention and was picked in the 28th round of the Major League Baseball amateur draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.