Charges accrue in Sagle attack
KEITH KINNAIRD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 years, 10 months AGO
SANDPOINT — Fallout continues from a Sagle home invasion allegedly perpetrated by a Bonner County man awaiting trial for vehicular manslaughter.
Peter Franklin Goullette was already facing charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, burglary and three counts of witness intimidation in connection with the Sunday attack.
Goullette, 24, appeared in court again on Thursday, where he was advised of two additional charges — a felony assault count and a misdemeanor battery count — were filed in connection with the incident.
Goullette is accused of forcing his way into a Sagle Road home and attacking a 21-year-old man with a baseball bat. He’s further accused of threatening to kill the alleged victim and two other witnesses if they implicated him in the attack, according to court records.
The new charges allege that Goullette threatened a 23-year-old witness who ordered him to leave the residence. The witness told a sheriff’s deputy that Goullette put the bat to his face.
“If you try anything, you’re next,” the witness quoted Goullette as saying.
The misdemeanor battery charge stems from a witness allegation that Goullette pushed his girlfriend to the ground and cursed her out before leaving the residence, court documents indicate.
Goullette is being held in lieu of $200,000 bail in the original case and $50,000 in the companion case.
Bonner County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Shane Greenbank is prosecuting Goullette as a persistent violator in both cases, which means he faces an additional five years to life in prison if he’s convicted on any of the underlying charges. Goullette was convicted of burglary in a 2012 case and being a felon in possession of a firearm in a 2015 case, court documents indicate.
An order barring Goullette from contact his girlfriend was entered in the case, although the 27-year-old woman is moving to have the order terminated. She said in court documents that Goullette has never harmed her and she was unaware that a charge was being filed on her behalf.
Goullette admitted engaging in a verbal confrontation at the residence, but denied that committing any battery, according to court documents. A defense motion to suppress evidence in the case is pending.
A hearing on the motion is set for Monday. A preliminary hearing is planned for Wednesday.
Goullette, meanwhile, is scheduled to be tried in 1st District Court on vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving charges on April 10. Goullette is accused of accidentally killing Katherine K. Stelzer, a 61-year-old Mead, Wash., resident and severely injuring Zualita Updike of Clark Fork with his pickup truck in June 2016. The two women were walking along McGhee Road when they were struck.
Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.
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