No death penalty decision in Renfro case

Prosecutors have until Jan. 4 to make determination

COEUR d'ALENE — Today was the deadline for Kootenai County prosecutors to decide whether to seek the death penalty against the man charged with killing Coeur d'Alene police Sgt. Greg Moore.

Prosecutors and public defenders in 27-year-old Jonathan Renfro's case agreed this week to postpone the deadline for the death penalty decision until Jan. 4. Renfro, of Rathdrum, made a brief appearance Wednesday in front of 1st District Court Judge Lansing Haynes, who approved the time extension.

Prosecutors had October and November to make a decision, following Renfro's plea of not guilty to six felony charges related to Moore's murder. First-degree murder is among the charges he faces for the May 5 incident.

He is also charged with grand theft, removing a law enforcement officer's firearm, concealing evidence, robbery and eluding police.

Renfro allegedly admitted to shooting Moore in the face in a Coeur d'Alene neighborhood. Moore had stopped Renfro, who was walking down a sidewalk in the middle of the night. Moore ran Renfro's driver's license information into central dispatch moments before the shooting.

Renfro is also accused of stealing Moore's gun and patrol car and fleeing at high speeds toward the Idaho-Washington state line, where he ditched Moore's car and fled on foot through a field.

He was soon found hiding under a trailer parked near a Walmart Supercenter.