Local/ Idaho Briefs November 20, 2011
Business burglar behind bars
COEUR d'ALENE - A 23-year-old man was arrested after police followed his tracks in the snow and found him inside a business.
Nicholas Holt was booked into Kootenai County jail for a reported burglary, according to a press release from Coeur d'Alene police.
Police responded to a business alarm at 250 Bosanko about 11:40 Friday night. A man had opened the door to the building and the alarm sounded, police said. The man was not on scene when officers arrived.
"Officers were able to follow his footprints in the snow and they caught up with him while he was inside of another business," the release said.
The suspect entered into at least two businesses and attempted to gain entry into three others, police said.
Judge declines to dismiss murder charge
LEWISTON (AP) - A former Nez Perce County Sheriff's deputy accused of strangling his ex-wife said a first-degree murder charge he faces should be dismissed because his former wife died as a result of engaging in a dangerous sex practice called autoerotic asphyxiation.
Second District Judge Michael J. Griffin on Friday rejected the request by Joseph Thomas Jr., 38, but also left open the possibility that such a defense could be used in a trial.
Thomas is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Beth Irby-Thomas, 28, who was found May 1 in her Lewiston home with a belt cinched around her neck.
Attorneys for Thomas filed a motion earlier this week stating he planned to give up his right to remain silent and testify that he and his former wife engaged in autoerotic asphyxiation, and that he observed his former wife engaging in the practice alone.
Nez Perce County Prosecutor Daniel Spickler said the defense move "is just another backdoor attempt to get into this sex nonsense."
Forest Service to redo Salmon-Challis travel plan
KETCHUM (AP) - A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Forest Service to develop a revised environmental impact statement concerning motorized vehicles on hundreds of miles of trails in the backcountry of the Salmon-Challis National Forest.
U.S. Magistrate Ronald E. Bush last week ruled that the federal agency failed to show it had fully considered the use of ATVs and other off-highway vehicles on routes of less than a half mile in recommended wilderness and roadless areas.
Bush said that failure by the Forest Service in creating its 2009 travel plan for the Salmon-Challis National Forest violated federal law by not taking into account the National Environmental Policy Act.
Bush gave the Forest Service until Aug. 31 to develop the new environmental impact statement.
The decision follows a lawsuit by the Idaho Conservation League seeking greater restrictions on motorized travel in the forest that covers 4.3 million acres and includes the Frank Church-River of No Return wilderness.
Man arrested after molestation complaint
BOISE (AP) - A 67-year-old southwest Idaho man who police said had inappropriate contact with two elementary-aged girls at his home has been arrested on suspicion of lewd conduct and sex abuse of a minor.
The Ada County Sheriff's Office said Michael James Angus of Star was taken into custody Friday and was being held in the Ada County Jail on $1 million bond.
Police said they began investigating after receiving a report last week about inappropriate contact that occurred in late October. Police said they found a second elementary-aged girl who they say was touched inappropriately by Angus for up to about a year and a half.
Police said Angus had access to many young children on many occasions in both supervised and unsupervised settings.