Idaho Supreme Court - Criminal Decisions 2022

Justia Opinion Summary: Jessie Adams appealed an order to pay $15,053.49 in restitution stemming from his conviction of petit theft. The State charged Adams with two separate counts of grand theft. A jury found Adams guilty of the first charge…

Justia Opinion Summary: Chad Schiermeier appealed the summary disposition of his petition for post-conviction relief. In 2017, Schiermeier was charged and convicted of one count of grand theft for stealing money from the Blaine County Sheriff’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Kathryn Adkins appealed her conviction for felony concealment of evidence. Whether the crime of concealment of evidence was a felony depends on whether the investigation or trial to which the evidence related involved a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Darin Ogden was convicted on one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of sexual battery. Ogden argued the convictions should have been vacated because of several erroneous evidentiary rulings made by the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Police apprehended defendant Clarence Lancaster for questioning relating to several ATM thefts in Boise, Idaho. He was later charged and ultimately entered conditional guilty pleas to two felonies: burglary and grand…

Justia Opinion Summary: On April 24, 2019, Deputy Brott stopped defendant-appellant Arthur Vivian’s car because Vivian’s brake lights were not working. Brott recorded the stop using a body camera. Vivian informed Brott that his license had been…

Justia Opinion Summary: Probation officers detained Natalie Miramontes while conducting a residence check on a female probationer, Christine Evans. During the detention, probation officers searched Miramontes’ purse and found suspected drug…

Justia Opinion Summary: Matthew Fox appealed his convictions for robbery, aggravated battery, possession of marijuana, and possession of methamphetamine. Charges arose from an incident in 2017 in which Fox allegedly pistol whipped his victim…

Justia Opinion Summary: Michanglo Smith challenges multiple evidentiary decisions of the district court involving two jury trials. The underlying convictions stem from a violent incident involving Smith and his then girlfriend (“Girlfriend”) on…

Justia Opinion Summary: In August 2020, police interviewed Dr. Daniel Lee Moore (“Moore”) concerning the murder of Dr. Brian Drake (“Drake”), who had been shot in his chiropractic office over five months earlier. Though Moore invoked his right…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury found Jesus Garcia guilty on charges related to a deadly night-club incident, the district court ordered restitution against Garcia in the amount of $162,285.27. In Idaho v. Garcia, 462 P.3d 1125 (2020)…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant Ricky Weaver appealed his conviction for solicitation of murder. The State contended Weaver offered to pay a fellow inmate to murder his girlfriend while they were both being held in the Elmore County…

Justia Opinion Summary: Gerald Pizzuto, Jr., was convicted of two brutal murders and sentenced to death in 1986. After the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole voted 4-3 to recommend that Pizzuto’s death sentence be commuted to life without…

Justia Opinion Summary: Melanie Hall appealed a district court’s modification of a no contact order. In 2015, the State of Idaho charged Hall with felony stalking of her ex-husband, and aggravated assault. Based on the charges, the district…

Justia Opinion Summary: Jesus Blancas was stopped by Idaho State Police Sergeant Chris Elverud. Elverud suspected Blancas of driving under the influence and administered four breath tests, but only one produced a valid result. That test…

Justia Opinion Summary: Brian Hollist challenged a district court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence. Hollist was arrested in Idaho Falls after an officer approached him while he was sleeping on a canal bank. The officer was responding…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved an investigatory detention of Jeremey Huntley based on a series of tips, corroborated in part, from a known confidential informant that Huntley was trafficking methamphetamine into Idaho. Huntley moved…

Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed the district court’s order granting Sunny Riley’s motion to suppress evidence obtained when a drug dog alerted on her vehicle while she was being cited for a traffic offense. Riley’s motion was granted…

Justia Opinion Summary: Juan Jimenez filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief and requested that counsel be appointed to represent him under Idaho Code section 19- 4904. In November 2018, Jimenez was charged with felony possession of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The issue presented for the Idaho Supreme Court's review in this case arose from a March 2020 traffic stop where a single officer, without having reasonable suspicion that a crime involving the passenger was afoot,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Cory Campbell appealed his sentence arising from his conviction of two counts of battery with attempt to commit rape. Campbell, who was seventeen at the time, was charged with five felony offenses related to multiple…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant Desiree Karst appealed a district court’s partial denial of her motion to suppress evidence obtained during a traffic stop. Karst argued on appeal that the police sergeant impermissibly extended the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Mark Wilson was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm in violation of Idaho Code section 18- 3316. The charge also carried with it a persistent violator sentencing enhancement. In a bifurcated trial, a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant Jennifer Olsen contended the application of withheld judgments in Idaho violated Idaho Code section 19-2601 because it caused criminal defendants to be convicted, thereby negating the legal benefits…

Justia Opinion Summary: Paul Stonecypher was stopped by law enforcement for vehicle equipment violations while driving through Idaho on a trip from California to Montana. Stonecypher contended his seizure was unlawfully prolonged to allow for a…

Justia Opinion Summary: In September 2018, Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) officers arrested Darren Temple in California as he crossed the border from Mexico into the United States. Temple had been in Mexico for legitimate business…

Justia Opinion Summary: The State challenged a district court’s order denying a motion to exclude expert testimony that defendant-respondent Ruben Diaz lacked the mens rea to commit aggravated battery because he suffered from a mental illness…

Justia Opinion Summary: Talon Ross appealed a district court’s order revoking his probation and imposing his previously suspended sentence for a robbery he pleaded guilty to in 2011. In 2019, Ross was charged with violating the terms of his…

Justia Opinion Summary: Aaron Tower appealed a district court’s order denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained following a warrantless arrest. In 2018, Tower’s mother, Michelle, contacted the Boise Police Department (BPD) and spoke to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Idaho Industrial Commission appealed the dismissal of motion to renew a restitution order in a criminal case. The Owyhee County Prosecuting Attorney obtained an order of restitution against Malinda Poe in 2005, which…

Justia Opinion Summary: Alejandra Ochoa was convicted by jury of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. She appealed her conviction to the district court, which vacated the judgment of conviction and remanded the case for a new trial. The district…

Justia Opinion Summary: Michael McDermott appealed his conviction for second-degree murder. McDermott arrived at his ex-girlfriend’s home late at night in the hopes of obtaining methamphetamine. After finding another man, Robert Waholi, inside…

Justia Opinion Summary: Tyler Clapp appealed his conviction for driving under the influence. After stopping Clapp for “spinning cookies” in a parking lot, police became suspicious that Clapp was intoxicated. Clapp refused to submit to any field…

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal consisted of two consolidated cases concerning drug-related charges. Casey Casper appealed his sentence, arguing it was excessive in light of mitigating factors he claimed the district court failed to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Gregory Wade Towner, Sr., appealed his conviction for possession of methamphetamine. The arresting officer found the contraband on Towner’s person during a warrantless search. Towner moved to suppress, arguing that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Timothy Dunlap was sentenced to death by a Caribou County, Idaho jury for the death of a Soda Springs bank teller killed in 1991. In 2008, Dunlap filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant Vincent Brown made two oral requests for reduction of sentence prior to the district court relinquishing jurisdiction and imposing sentence. After sentence was imposed, Brown filed one written motion…

Justia Opinion Summary: Adam Paulson was arrested for misdemeanor driving under the influence (DUI) at the scene of the accident; he struck and killed a pedestrian with his vehicle as the pedestrian was crossing a road on a late November 2017…