Five charged in Bonner County burglary ring
SANDPOINT — A confiscated iPhone helped Bonner County Sheriff’s investigators dismantle a prolific burglary ring and uncover an alleged sex crime involving an underage girl.
The ring’s purported leader, Peter Franklin Goulette, made an initial appearance court appearance Thursday on six counts of burglary, six counts of grand theft and three counts of misdemeanor theft.
An alleged accomplice, Skyler Christopher Tucker, also made an initial appearance on four counts of burglary, three counts of grand theft and two counts of petty theft.
Goulette, a 19-year-old county resident, and Tucker, 20, of Sandpoint, were ordered held in lieu of $10,000 bail and public defenders were appointed to represent them, according to court records.
Two additional suspects, Kai Richard Leach, and David Dean Combs Jr., have already been arrested in connection with some of the burglaries and remain in custody.
Leach, 18, faces an added charge of sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 16 plus an additional theft and burglary charges, according to court records.
Combs, 17, is being prosecuted in juvenile court, although his case file remains sealed.
A fifth suspect, Richard Justin Wilkerson, faces five counts of grand theft and three counts of burglary. The 18-year-old is scheduled to make an initial court appearance on Nov. 16.
The burglaries occurred all over Bonner County in September and October, from Sandpoint to Sagle and from Cocolalla to the north side. Landowners, businesses and two churches in Kootenai were struck during the spree.
Investigators caught a break in September, when Combs reported to juvenile probation for community service. Those who report for such duty are forbidden from bringing mobile phones and the devices are subject to confiscation and inspection for evidence of criminal activity, according to county policy.
Combs’ Apple smartphone was confiscated and it allegedly held a video of Leach having sex with the 14-year-old girl and images of at least one of the suspects cutting into a large gun safe.
Combs and Leach were later involved in a traffic stop by Sandpoint Police and stolen property linked to one of the burglaries was recovered.
Goulette, who was identified as one of the suspects breaching the gun safe, was confronted and allegedly confessed to being both the brains and the brawn of the operation. He portrayed his alleged confederates as “amateurs” who would likely bring down the operation through foolish behavior, according to the police reports.
The bulk of the stolen goods — which included power tools, desktop and laptop computers, sporting goods, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, safes, firearms, welding gear and generators — was stashed in a shed on Smokehouse Road in Sagle.
Goulette, police reports said, told investigated that he intended to burn the shed down when the burglary ring began to crumble, but deputies were already guarding the structure.