Manslaughter suspect pleads not guilty

SANDPOINT — A Louisiana man pleaded not guilty Friday to accidentally killing a motorcyclist on U.S. Highway 95 last year.

Taj Patrick LeCompte is charged with vehicular manslaughter at the misdemeanor level. The date of his jury trial in Bonner County Magistrate Court is pending.

LeCompte, 34, entered the plea by telephone from his home in Elton, La. He was allowed to appear telephonically because his wife is pregnant and due to give birth imminently, according to court documents.

LeCompte is applying for a public defender to represent him, but the court has not yet ruled on whether he qualifies financially for a taxpayer-funded defense.

Idaho State Police said LeCompte was driving south on the highway when he turned into the path of a northbound motorcyclist while attempting to head east on Bottle Bay Road.

Lawrence “Red” Barber, a 60-year-old from Twin Falls, was gravely injured in the September 2011 crash and died ten days later at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

LeCompte was working for Railroad Controls Limited, a railway utility company, at the time of the collision. Barber was in town visiting aficionados of the Suzuki Cavalcade, a luxury touring bike with a devoted legion of followers, according to state police.

LeCompte was charged at the misdemeanor level because the ISP investigation ruled out intoxication and reckless driving as factors in the crash. If convicted, he faces up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.