Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Jury acquits Hailey woman of felony DUI

Defendant and attorney claim Hailey police botched investigation


By TERRY SMITH
Express Staff Writer

Hailey resident Bonnie Lee Nochta relaxes over a cup of coffee Monday after being acquitted Friday of a felony DUI charge. Nochta, who has four prior DUI convictions, was also charged with being a “persistent violator,” a crime in Idaho that is punishable by up to life in prison. Photo by Willy Cook

Hailey resident Bonnie Lee Nochta is breathing easier this week after a jury on Friday found her not guilty of felony DUI and being a "persistent violator," a charge punishable in Idaho by up to life in prison.

The seven-woman, five-man jury was in seclusion for only about 45 minutes before reaching a verdict to acquit 50-year-old Nochta, who has four prior DUI convictions but claimed she wasn't driving the day of her latest arrest in 2008. The not guilty verdict nullified the state charge of persistent violator, Idaho's so-called "three strikes and you're out" statute, which carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison.

"I would say that the jury wasted no time in concluding that Bonnie wasn't driving at the time of the alleged incident," defense attorney Brian Elkins said.

The case was not your typical DUI situation. Nochta wasn't arrested after a traffic stop, nor did the arresting officer see her behind the wheel. Rather, the case relied in large part on the testimony of Hailey resident James Lathrop, Nochta's ex-husband, who reported that he saw Nochta driving on the afternoon of Sept. 13, 2008.

The case against Nochta is described in a probable cause affidavit filed by former Hailey police officer Shelly Pharis, who wrote that she went to Nochta's home on Whitetail Drive on the afternoon of Sept. 13 regarding an unrelated dispute between Lathrop and Nochta. When she arrived, Pharis wrote, Lathrop was at Nochta's home and claimed he had seen Nochta driving her 2000 Chevrolet Blazer just prior to his arrival. Nochta's daughter, who was with Lathrop, made a similar claim.

Pharis wrote that Nochta appeared to be intoxicated, failed field sobriety tests and was arrested.

Elkins pointed out that Lathrop acknowledged during his testimony at last week's trial that he followed a vehicle he believed was Nochta's but that he lost sight of the vehicle for at least 30 seconds prior to arriving at Nochta's home. Elkins said there were other vehicles in the area matching the description of Nochta's Blazer and that Lathrop "made a big mistake in what he saw."

Elkins also pointed out that Pharis failed to check Nochta's vehicle to see if the engine was warm from being recently driven.

"It's the state's burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she was driving," Elkins said. "The jury applied the constitutional principles of presumption of innocence and proof beyond a reasonable doubt. It's a total failure of the state's case."

Elkins added that his client faced some nine months of emotional stress that could have been avoided had Pharis "done what she was supposed to do."

Hailey Police Chief Jeff Gunter said Monday that officers have a routine to follow in a possible DUI situation but that checking to see if a vehicle is warm from operation is not typically one of them. Nonetheless, Gunter said, under the circumstances he would have likely checked the vehicle.

"You need to prove that a person was behind the wheel," Gunter said. "Evidently, in this case the jury didn't think we proved it."

Nochta, who describes herself as an "alcoholic in recovery," has four prior DUI convictions, one in 1995, two in 1999 and one in 2002. The last two were felonies. In an interview Monday, she acknowledged that she was drinking on Sept. 13 but denied she was driving.

"I was innocent and I want the public to know that I am not a persistent violator," she said. "The past is just that, it's my past.

"I hope that this case opens the eyes of the Hailey Police Department to take a closer look at their officers, because this case could have been resolved at my home on Sept. 13, 2008, at 4 p.m. It would have ended right there if she (Pharis) had done her job."

Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney Jim Thomas issued a written statement Monday.

"Given that this was a circumstantial evidence case to some degree and we had to rely upon family members and an ex-husband to place the defendant behind the wheel, we simply had to put this case before a jury to make the ultimate call," Thomas wrote. "The fact that this was Bonnie Nochta's fifth DUI charge and third (alleged) felony DUI meant we had no choice but to go to trial, and we will respect the jury's decision."

Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com




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