Hearing set in manslaughter case
CLAGSTONE — A preliminary hearing is pending for a Coeur d'Alene man accused of accidentally killing a passenger in a rollover crash north of Spirit Lake in 2017.
Jose Franco Sosa Jr. is being charged at the felony level because he was under the influence of drugs and was driving in a careless or heedless manner, according to a criminal complaint.
A hearing to determine if there is sufficient evidence to justify a trial in 1st District Court is scheduled for Wednesday in Bonner County Magistrate Court. Sosa is imprisoned at the Idaho State Correctional Center near Boise on unrelated charges out of Kootenai County, according to the Idaho Department of Correction.
The crash near Peregine Road killed Joseph T. Neumann, an underage passenger from Rathdrum who was riding in the front seat of the Subaru Legacy Sosa was driving on May 15, 2017. A warrant was issued for Sosa's arrest in the case in 2018, after a toxicology exam revealed the presence of methamphetamine and THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis, in Sosa's bloodstream.
Idaho State Police said Sosa was driving northbound on Spirit Lake Cutoff Road when he drove off the western shoulder of the paved road and hit a series of mailboxes. The station wagon yawed to the right and slid sideways. The left side of the Subaru dug into soft dirt in the roadside ditch, causing the vehicle to overturn, a probable cause affidavit alleges.
Neither Sosa nor Neumann were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, the affidavit said. Neumann was ejected and killed in the rollover, while Sosa became pinned in the wreckage and had to be extricated, court documents indicate. A child of unspecified age restrained in a forward-facing safety seat in the back of the vehicle also was injured, the affidavit said.
An ISP crash reconstruction expert said in a report that Sosa was driving up to 57 mph in a 45 mph zone when the crash began to unfold.
Sosa, 59, is currently serving a five- to 10-year prison term in a felony driving under the influence case in Kootenai County dating back to 2010. He is also serving concurrent sentences for a 2015 felony eluding charge and a 2016 felony drug possession charge, according to Idaho's iCourt database. He becomes eligible for parole in 2021.
Bonner County Deputy Public Defender Luke Hagelberg moved for sanctions against the state because the warrant of arrest was not served on Sosa while he was in prison, court records show. Hagelberg argued the case should have been dismissed outright, with his client receiving credit for time served.
The arrest warrant, however, was later quashed and recalled, court documents indicate.
If convicted as charged, Sosa faces up to 10 years in prison, according to Idaho Code.