Man Admits Practicing Medicine, No License

A Blackfoot man accused of practicing medicine on humans and animals without a license has cut a deal with prosecutors that reduces the number of charges against him and clears his girlfriend.

James Gary Boldt, 43, was scheduled to stand trial April 29 on 14 felony charges and two misdemeanors. The plea bargain reduces the charges to one felony count of practicing medicine without a license, one misdemeanor charge of practicing veterinary medicine without a license and one felony count of issuing an insufficient-funds check.

His sentencing is scheduled for July 14 before 7th District Judge James Herndon.

Boldt had cut the same deal with Bingham County prosecutors in January but changed his mind in February.

A May 6 jury trial had been set for Boldt’s girlfriend, Brenda Lopez, who was charged with harboring a wanted felon. Prosecutors alleged Lopez hid Boldt from police in her Blackfoot home for several months last year before he was arrested in July. The charge will be dropped as part of Boldt’s plea agreement, according to court records.

Charges against Boldt stem from a March 1995 incident in which he allegedly injected a Blackfoot teenager with the anesthetic drug Marcaine and a June 1994 incident in which he allegedly performed surgery on a dog.

Boldt was convicted of similar charges in Jackson, Wyo., in 1993. He served about 30 days in jail and also performed community service.

Practicing medicine without a license is punishable by up to five years in prison and $10,000 in fines in Idaho. The insufficient-funds charge carries a penalty of up to three years in prison and $50,000 in fines, while practicing veterinary medicine without a license is a civil infraction punishable by up to 180 days in county jail and $3,000 in fines.