POCATELLO — Two local residents were recently arrested for felony driving under the influence in unrelated incidents in Pocatello.
Kristine Nicole Potter, 34, of Pocatello, was arrested and charged with felony DUI following an incident on June 28, according to police and court records the Idaho State Journal recently obtained.
Around 6:30 p.m. on June 28 an anonymous citizen called to report that the driver of a white GMC SUV, later identified as Potter, was failing to maintain lanes and traveling against the flow of traffic while heading northbound on Bannock Highway, police said.
Officers responded to the area and located the vehicle traveling north on the 1600 block of North Main Street in Pocatello about six minutes later, the police report says. Officers noted that the vehicle was a white 2023 GMC Acadia though the license plates came back as belonging to a beige 2008 Ford Escape, police said.
The officer initiated a traffic stop for the fictitious license plate and identified Potter as the driver, noting that she appeared nervous and that he could detect the faint odor of alcoholic beverage coming from inside the vehicle, the report says.
Potter denied consuming any alcohol and said she had just gotten off work, the report says, adding that she failed to complete standard field sobriety tests in a satisfactory manner.
Potter then refused to provide officers with a breath sample and was subsequently detained and taken to the Pocatello police station where her blood was drawn.
After her blood was drawn, Potter was charged with felony DUI after having previously been convicted of two misdemeanor DUI charges within the past 10 years, according to the report.
She was then booked inside the Bannock County Jail in Pocatello.
Potter appeared in front of 6th District Magistrate Judge David Hooste for an arraignment hearing on Monday, during which her bond was set at $10,000. She posted the bond on Wednesday and was released from jail.
She is due back in court on July 11 for a preliminary hearing that will involve local prosecutors attempting to prove there is enough evidence against her to elevate the case from the magistrate to district court level for trial.
In an unrelated incident, Ismael Rivas, 46, of Pocatello, was also charged with felony DUI following an incident on June 30, police and court records show.
The incident began to unfold around 1:55 a.m. when an officer on patrol on Garrett Way in Pocatello observed a black GMC Yukon driving 53 mph on a street marked at 45 mph and failing to maintain lanes, police said.
The officers initiated a traffic stop and the SUV came to a stop near the intersection of Pole Line Road and Ebony Road, said police, adding that Rivas was identified as the driver.
The officer noted a strong smell of alcohol coming from the car and requested the assistance of another police officer who ultimately conducted one field sobriety test on Rivas, which he failed before refusing to complete any more tests, police said.
Rivas was detained and taken to the Pocatello Police Department where he would provide officers with a breath sample that was .235, nearly four times the legal limit of .08 to safely operate a motor vehicle in Idaho, the report says. Rivas refused to conduct a second breath test and was subsequently charged with felony DUI after having been previously convicted of two misdemeanor DUI’s within the past 10 years.
He was then arrested and transported to the Bannock County Jail.
Rivas appeared in front of Judge Hooste on Monday, during which his bond was set at $25,000.
He is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on July 11.
The maximum penalty for felony DUI in Idaho is up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
Local Idaho State
Most Popular
Comments / 0