SANDPOINT — A man involved in a faulty logging contract with Idaho Department of Lands has been sentenced on multiple misdemeanor charges following a mediated resolution that reduced seven felony charges to misdemeanors after an Oct. 6, 2025, guilty plea. 

Jakob Hatfield, 44, was sentenced to five days in jail and two years of supervised probation for seven misdemeanor counts of petit theft after violating a timber contract with the IDL by taking seven loads of timber without proper reporting or markings. 

Hatfield will receive a withheld judgment, meaning that he can avoid formal conviction of the charges if he successfully completes probation. If probation is not completed, Hatfield could face the maximum penalties for the charges.  

Hatfield was originally charged with seven felony counts of grand theft, each punishable by up to 14 years in prison. 

During a sentencing hearing, a representative from IDL spoke about how the theft “heavily affected the community,” noting that the timber funds are used to generate revenue for Idaho endowments, which include public schools, Idaho taxpayers and the Idaho Division of Veterans Services, among others. The representative said the value of the stolen timber amounted to approximately $566,000 in damage over time.  

Prosecutor Jennifer Kohout echoed those concerns, stating the theft resulted in significant lost revenue for the community. She said Hatfield had shown intent in making sure IDL did not receive funds by using a fictitious name for timber transfers.  

Kohout hinted at concerns about a lack of accountability, noting brief awareness of money transfers relating to a pending civil lawsuit between Hatfield and IDL.  

Defense attorney John Redel agreed that Hatfield had made a “really really dumb decision,” but said that the weight of his actions was not lost on him. Redel shared that Hatfield had been metaphorically “under water” at the time of theft due to a contract cancellation by IDL.  

District Judge Susie Jensen handed down the sentence from the bench, noting that while the crime appears to be “victimless” on the surface, Hatfield’s actions resulted in a ripple effect throughout the community and taxpayers.  

According to a probable cause affidavit, Hatfield’s company, Timber Logging Company LLC, was awarded a logging operation in 2021 that was contracted by the State Board of Land Commissioners and took place on IDL property near Priest River.  

While operations were underway, court documents note that IDL officials began “having problems with logging operations.” While the specific issues were not detailed in court filings, IDL personnel placed several game cameras along the main road at the logging site as a precaution.  

In May 2023, Mike Montee, owner of Northwest Transfers LLC, was contacted by Hatfield regarding a price sheet for log deliveries, but was not contacted again. Court documents indicate Montee was later contacted by a man identifying himself as Leon Nosiglia, operating under the business name Northland Supply in Sandpoint. 

Montee said the man told him the log delivery would be a yard-to-yard transfer.   

In June 2023, Montee contacted Idaho Board of Scaling Practices Director Shawn Inman to share concerns about the legality and discrepancies surrounding Nosiglia’s contract. A probable cause affidavit shared that, through Inman’s research, it was discovered that Hatfield’s middle name is Leon and his wife’s maiden name is Nosiglia.  

After learning that Hatfield was allegedly using the name of Leon Nosiglia and held multiple contracts with IDL, Inman contacted IDL officials. Personnel from IDL then reviewed footage from the game cameras installed in 2021, which allegedly showed a truck suspected of being involved in the theft of seven undocumented timber loads.  

Investigations reported that three loads had been delivered to Montee’s lot under a false name and pretense, while the remaining four loads are believed to have been delivered to another lumber yard in Priest River.