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Manslaughter suspect jailed on warrant

KEITH KINNAIRD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 years, 9 months AGO
by KEITH KINNAIRD
News Editor | August 23, 2016 1:00 AM

SANDPOINT — A Bonner County man accused of accidentally killing one pedestrian and injuring another was taken into custody Monday on an unrelated warrant.

Peter Franklin Goullette appeared in 1st District Court to address probation violations that emerged in the investigation into the deadly June 30 collision on McGhee Road in Ponderay.

Idaho State Police said Goullette was driving southbound in a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck when he struck the two women, who are also headed southbound.

Katherine K. Stelzer, a 61-year-old from Mead, Wash., died at the scene. Zualita L. Updike, 50, of Clark Fork, was injured and taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Both were employees at Litehouse Foods and were taking a walk during a break, according to company officials.

Goullette, 22, admitted operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of marijuana during Monday’s evidentiary hearing, court records show.

Meanwhile, new probation violations have accumulated against Goullette. He was spotted at the Bonner County Fair’s rodeo beer garden on Aug. 6 and was confronted by several members of the public, according to court records. He was also seen outside bars in Sandpoint and Ponderay on the same date.

Police were summoned to the Ponderay bar after its staff reported there was “out of control” male in the parking lot shortly before 10 p.m., a police report said.

Goullette allegedly lunged at his girlfriend outside the bar, prompting another man to place a choke hold on Goullette, the report said. Goullette is further accused of pulling a knife and threatening to use it during the altercation, according to the report.

Goullette smelled of alcohol and appeared intoxicated when he was being questioned by police, the report stated.

Dan Lorden, an Idaho Department of Correction Probation & Parole officer, said in the latest notice of probation violation that Goullette continues to be a danger to himself and the community.

“Mr. Goullette has shown he is unable to control his behavior,” Lorden wrote.

Goullette’s defense counsel, Deputy Public Defender Susie Jensen, advised Judge Barbara Buchanan that she is seeking to resolve all of her client’s legal troubles in one fell swoop, including an anticipated vehicular manslaughter charge resulting from the fatal collision, court records show.

Jensen said ISP has concluded its investigation into the collision and the defense is awaiting a decision by the Bonner County Prosecutor’s Office whether to charge Goullette at the felony or misdemeanor level, according to court documents.

Buchanan ordered Goullette be taken into custody on the warrant and held without bond until a Sept. 20 disposition hearing.

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