In brief: Body identified as missing Coolin man
The body found Monday in the Priest Lake area has been identified as Leslie Carlton Breaw, a local man who went missing in February.
The cause of Breaw’s death is pending a pathology report, the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office said.
Breaw, of Coolin, Idaho, has been missing since Feb. 4, when his truck was found abandoned. At the time, sheriff’s deputies and Bonner County Search and Rescue looked for Breaw and searched his home.
On Tuesday, a Hope, Idaho, couple considered “persons of interest” in Breaw’s disappearance were arrested in Ft. Myers, Fla., where local authorities and the FBI arrested Keith Allan Brown and Tyrah Brea Brown.
Keith Brown is wanted on a federal warrant for alleged unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and an Idaho warrant for grand theft. Tyrah Brown is wanted for alleged probation violation in Montana.
Breaw’s body was found by an Idaho Department of Lands employee working in the Priest Lake area.
– Erica Curless
Boise
State surplus could go into emergency fund
Republican budget writers introduced a plan Wednesday to put $60 million of Idaho’s expected budget surplus into an emergency fund.
It could be used to pay for a new prison or a secure facility for dangerously mentally ill patients. Or, it could be used to offset an economic setback — for example, if a costly settlement is reached in an ongoing dispute about water rights in eastern Idaho. The fund would be temporary, lasting from the beginning of the fiscal year on July 1 until Dec. 31.
Some Democrats on the Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee said the plan would inappropriately leave decisions on using the money completely in the hands of the majority GOP.
A final decision was delayed until today, so lawmakers could consider changes to address minority party concerns.
– Associated Press
Spokane
May 14 trial date set in child’s death
A judge Wednesday ordered Jonathan D. Lytle and Adriana L. Lytle to remain in jail, each on a $500,000 bond, and set a tentative trial date of May 14 for a jury to hear the homicide by abuse case.
The Lytles are charged with the March 11 death of 4-year-old Summer Phelps. Spokane Police detectives have said in court documents that Phelps was a victim of severe abuse.
The Lytles appeared before Superior Court Judge Michael Price and pleaded not guilty to the charge, which could keep each of them in prison for life.
Assistant Public Defender John Whaley said 32-year-old Adriana Lytle, who was the girl’s stepmother, has no criminal record. He asked Price to reduce her bond to $50,000 or $100,000.
Assistant Public Defender Dennis Dressler asked the same for 28-year-old Jonathan Lytle, who was Summer’s biological father. His record shows four misdemeanor convictions.
Price said the $500,000 bond was appropriate. “I’m extremely concerned about what I read in the (probable cause) affidavit,” he said.
– Thomas Clouse