Probation violations may prove costly

SANDPOINT — Retained jurisdiction is being recommended for a woman implicated in a Priest Lake murder case who is charged with violating the terms of probation.

Idaho Department of Correction officials contend Tyrah Brea Harding is no longer a viable candidate for a community-based correctional program because of her drug addiction, according to documents filed in 1st District Court.

Under retained jurisdiction, also known as a rider, Harding could be imprisoned for up to six months. After that period, a judge would decide whether to further incarcerate or place her back on probation.

A hearing on the alleged violations is set for Nov. 23.

Harding, 27, was arrested last month and charged with running afoul of the terms of her probation by using drugs and alcohol. She was also consorting with a 30-year-old Bonner County man her parole officer expressly prohibited from having direct contact with.

Harding allegedly admitted to using methamphetamine intravenously last month and drinking while on a travel permit to clear up some of her lingering legal troubles in Montana this summer, court documents said.

Harding, formerly Tyrah Brown, was given a suspended prison term for playing a role in the shooting death of Leslie Carlton Breaw in Coolin in January 2007 and possession of proceeds from a $56,000 escrow check belonging to the slain man.

She pleaded guilty to grand theft by possession of stolen property and a reduced charge of accessory to second-degree murder. She was sentenced earlier this year to 2-5 years on the accessory charge and 4-12 years on the theft charge, but the terms were suspended.

Harding’s former husband, Keith Allen Brown, remains jailed and awaiting trial on charges of first-degree murder and grand theft by possession. Both Harding and Brown remain held at the Bonner County Jail.

Brown, 49, has steadfastly maintained his innocence and alleges Breaw, 48, was shot accidentally in a physical confrontation the slain man initiated.

After serving almost two years in jail while the case was pending, Harding was released on probation and went on divorce from Brown, but appeared to have fallen back into an abyss of substance abuse and unhealthy relationships — problems which family members said had plagued her in the past.