Bail revoked in fatal crash case

SANDPOINT — A Clark Fork man awaiting sentencing for vehicular manslaughter is back in jail after flunking a drug test.

Zachary Bradshaw Palmer was ordered held on $100,000 bail Monday after a urine sample tested positive for marijuana use, court records show.

An admit/deny hearing on the violation is set for June 18, the same day Palmer is scheduled is to be sentenced in 1st District Court on the felony manslaughter charge.

Palmer was free on $10,000 bond while the manslaughter case was pending. When he was released on bail, Judge Debra Heise forbid Palmer from using  controlled substances — a standard release condition.

Palmer entered an Alford plea to the manslaughter charge last month. Under the terms of such a plea, a defendant admits no wrongdoing, but concedes a conviction could result if the matter went to trial.

However, the plea is treated no differently than a standard plea of guilt at the time of sentencing.

Palmer, 21, was charged following a deadly rollover crash on River Road on Oct. 8, 2008. The crash killed Tyler James Pesce, an 18-year-old from Hope who was a passenger in the Chevrolet Corvette Palmer was driving.

Palmer’s blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.13, well over the state’s limit of 0.08, Idaho State Police say.

Allegations surfaced at Palmer’s plea hearing that he was using drugs. Bonner County Probation & Parole agents were also aware of the allegations and called for Palmer to be tested, according to court documents.

The impact the failed drug test will have on the proceedings was not immediately clear on Monday. However, District Judge Steve Verby agreed at the plea hearing to bind himself to retained jurisdiction, largely because Pesce’s father and stepmother supported the plea agreement.

Under retained jurisdiction, a defendant is imprisoned at an Idaho Department of Correction prison for at least six months, after which time they could be considered for release onto probation.

Verby revoked Palmer’s bail on June 4 and issued a warrant for his arrest, court documents indicate.