Former sheriff arraigned in Nez Perce County court

LEWISTON — Former Nez Perce County Sheriff Jim Dorion was arraigned Wednesday on three felony charges of being an accessory to burglary. The Idaho attorney general’s office filed the charges in 2nd District Court, alleging Dorion helped a young burglar evade capture by giving him information about his crimes. Dorion took medical leave from his office in May 2008 after telling Nez Perce County commissioners he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The commissioners removed him from office four months later after they couldn’t reach him to get any verification of his condition. Dorion was arrested on a felony warrant related to the accessory charges in March in Shreveport, La., and was extradited to Idaho on Tuesday. His attorney, Joseph P. Filicetti, said Dorion had moved to Texas and Louisiana to seek treatment for his condition. “He wasn’t running from anything,” Filicetti told the Lewiston Tribune after the arraignment. “He moved down there to get medical care and recuperate.” Dorion is currently being held on $25,000 in the Nez Perce County jail, the same facility he used to run as sheriff. Filicetti said he has been segregated from other inmates inside the jail. If convicted, Dorion faces up to five years in prison and a $50,000 fine.