The Blaine County prosecuting attorney has yet to say whether he is contemplating criminal charges against a 27-year-old Hailey woman who recanted testimony given in court and statements made to police regarding felony battery charges against her boyfriend.
Apparent changes in Sandee Byington's version of events related to domestic battery charges against Christopher D. Pothier led to dismissal of the case against him Monday in Blaine County 5th District Court.
Byington herself was arrested by Hailey police in September 2007 on a charge of violating a no-contact order involving Pothier, and she faces felony drug and misdemeanor property-damage charges in Twin Falls County.
Questions still linger in the dismissal of the Blaine County case against Pothier, but Prosecuting Attorney Jim Thomas did not respond to two e-mails and a telephone call from the Idaho Mountain Express for more information on the case.
Steve Harkins, a detective with the Blaine County Sheriff's Office, said Wednesday that the sheriff's office has not been requested to investigate apparent changes in statements that Byington made to police regarding Pothier's arrest in Gannett on April 23.
Pothier was later charged with felony domestic battery resulting in traumatic injury. The criminal complaint filed against him alleges that he injured Byington by "punching her multiple times, choking her and pulling her hair causing bruising and abrasions on her face, neck, legs and back."
A mental evaluation of Pothier, ordered when he was disruptive during arraignment on the charge, has been completed. Results of the evaluation are not publicly available, but Pothier was apparently deemed mentally competent because prosecution of the case continued.
A probable-cause affidavit filed by the sheriff's office alleged that Pothier battered Byington on April 22 while the couple was driving from Twin Falls to the Wood River Valley, and again later that day or the following day in Gannett.
Byington testified at Pothier's preliminary hearing on July 1 that Pothier battered her in Blaine County. However, she wrote in a Sept. 11 "application to dismiss no contact order" that she was "not battered at any time" by Pothier and that "the events in the car that I testified to at the preliminary hearing" occurred in Lincoln County.
Byington further stated in the application that she and Pothier "will continue to have a relationship once this is over."
Not addressed by either Byington's application, or by Thomas, are the allegations made by the sheriff's office that Byington was battered in Gannett.
Byington also recanted statements to police regarding allegations against Pothier in June 2007, when he was charged with five felonies, including rape and kidnapping. That case was dismissed in August 2007 at Byington's request and on a motion filed by the prosecutor's office.
It is not clear why, but following dismissal of that case, Pothier obtained a no-contact order against Byington. She was arrested for allegedly violating that order.
"Late at night our policeman was on patrol and saw a car parked at Curtis Park and she stopped to investigate and found the two of them (Byington and Pothier) in Sandee Byington's car, so she arrested her," said Hailey Assistant Police Chief Dave Stellers.
Byington was charged with "domestic violence—violation of a protection order." That case was dismissed in November 2007 on a motion filed by the prosecuting attorney's office.
Byington currently faces two criminal charges in Twin Falls County.
She was charged in April with "controlled substance—attempt to obtain a controlled substance by deception." According to Twin Falls County court records, a plea agreement has been reached in the case and Byington is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 14.
Byington was cited for misdemeanor "malicious injury to property" in June. According to Twin Falls County court records, she has not yet been arraigned on that charge.
Pothier meanwhile, still faces a misdemeanor telephone harassment charge in Blaine County for allegedly sending threatening e-mails to a former church acquaintance.
