Former Eagles leader caught in child sex sting attempts suicide

Former Coeur d’Alene Eagles President Ronald Nold attempted suicide Monday, according to the Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office, two days before he was expected to plead guilty to a charge of soliciting a minor for sex.

He was listed in serious condition at Kootenai Health.

Nold, 65, was convicted of sex crimes involving minors in Oregon and Washington in the early 1990s. In subsequent years, he held leadership positions at Fraternal Order of Eagles posts around Idaho, including Coeur d’Alene, Hayden and Post Falls.

In August 2017, Nold was arrested during an internet child sex sting during which an undercover Coeur d’Alene police officer posed as a 15-year-old boy and agreed to meet Nold at a hotel. He was released after bail was posted.

Nold faces up to 15 years in prison. Because he missed his pretrial conference Wednesday, prosecutors said the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office will still issue a warrant.

Before his reported suicide attempt, Nold had been an accountant who managed Heatherstone Senior Housing in Hayden and was the treasurer for multiple homeowners associations in Kootenai County.

Nold, who also served time for embezzlement, was associated with the Coeur d’Alene Eagles until 2015 and was the secretary of the Hayden and Post Falls Eagles posts through at least 2017. He also was listed recently as the Eagles’ state secretary of Idaho.

According to court minutes from a January hearing, attorneys said they expected Nold to plead guilty in a pretrial conference and that the state should not prepare for trial.