Former EMT accused of stealing from patient

SANDPOINT — A former emergency medical technician from Priest River is accused of ripping off an elderly patient he tended to last year.

Jimmie Wayne Goodson is charged with burglary, two counts of forgery of a financial transaction card and three counts of criminal possession of a financial transaction card.

Judge Debra Heise set Goodson’s bail at $100,000 on Monday and appointed a public defender to represent him, court records show. A hearing to determine if Goodson should stand trial on the felony charges is pending in the magistrate division of 1st District Court.

Goodson’s legal problems multiplied on Tuesday, when he was served with eight Kootenai County warrants encompassing 13 counts of passing bad checks, three counts of grand theft and two counts of forgery.

Goodson’s bail now surpasses $200,000.

The Priest River Police Department began investigating Goodson last fall, after the patient reported that his wallet and checkbook had been stolen from his home. The victim, who officials said is in his 70s and disabled, routinely left his door unlocked so EMTs could easily gain access to his apartment during an emergency.

The burglary occurred on Sept. 23, 2008, charging papers say. Priest River Police said unauthorized charges turned up immediately.

“Whoever entered the apartment and took the items started using the credit card at about 7 in the morning at various gas stations. Later on the afternoon, they started subscribing to various adult entertainment web sites,” police Chief Raymond Roberts testified during a search warrant hearing in October.

Goodson, according to the recently unsealed testimony, emerged as a suspect because he responded to an earlier distress call at the apartment and was aware of the unlocked door.

The online transactions were traced back to Goodson through his e-mail and Internet Protocol addresses, Roberts told the court. An IP address is a numeric address assigned to a computer connected to the Internet.

Goodson’s former home in the 200 block of Cedar Street in Priest River was searched and authorities seized two computers and peripheral equipment, court documents show.

Crime Stoppers of the Inland Northwest listed Goodson as a wanted subject in January. The group’s Web site indicated the Goodson was a suspect in a Coeur d’Alene Police Department forgery investigation and was being sought on warrants from Bonner and Boundary counties.

The Idaho State Judiciary data repository showed Goodson was wanted on a probation violation in a 2005 drug possession, forgery and theft case in Boundary County.

Goodson was booked into the Bonner County Jail on Saturday.