Alleged boat driver facing charges
More than a year after a boat crash killed three people on Lake Coeur d’Alene, the alleged driver of one of the boats is now facing manslaughter and criminal conspiracy charges.
Dennis Magner, of Spokane, entered a not guilty plea Friday to three counts of involuntary manslaughter before First District Judge Cynthia C.K. Meyer in Coeur d’Alene.
Magner, 51, is also charged with one felony count of conspiracy to conceal evidence related to the investigation of the July 30, 2016, crash that claimed the lives of Caitlin Breeze, 21, of Spokane; Justin Luhr, 34, of Medical Lake; and Justin Honken, 31, of Post Falls.
The boat Magner was driving was carrying four passengers when it crashed into a stationary vessel occupied by Breeze, Luhr and Honken, reported Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office investigators.
According to the indictment, Magner was drunk at the time of the crash and “evidence of alcohol impairment … would have been revealed through further investigation.”
Six months after the collision investigators said four of the five people on Magner’s boat, including Magner, had provided false information about the identity of the boat’s driver.
“In the days following the crash, information became public that three people were missing and presumed drowned,” according to a Sheriff’s Office news release. “It was then that three of the occupants aboard Magner’s boat recanted their original statements to deputies and identified Magner as the person actually operating the vessel at the time of the crash.”
One of those passengers, Jonathan C. Sweat, 40, of Spokane, is also charged with criminal conspiracy for allegedly lying to deputies.
Involuntary manslaughter carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Criminal conspiracy carries the same penalty as the crime that defendants tried to cover up.
In addition to the felony charges, two lawsuits have been filed against Magner by members of the victims’ families.
The civil actions will proceed separately from the criminal charges and a judge could find Magner liable for monetary damages regardless of the outcome of the criminal case.