Hearing waived in police battery case

SANDPOINT — A woman accused of battering two police officers after rampaging through a downtown bar earlier this month waived her right to a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.

Mercades Marie Bockas’ waiver clears the way for a jury trial in 1st District Court. Bockas is charged with two counts of battery on a law officer, a felony offense.

Bockas, who is free on a $5,000 surety bond while the case is pending, is scheduled to be arraigned on May 13.

Bockas, 25, is accused of punching Sandpoint Police Officer Steven Kingery and head-butting Officer Kale White outside the A&P Bar & Grill on April 13. Bockas allegedly battered the officers after being ejected from the bar and trying to fight her way back into the establishment and breaking a window, according to a probable cause affidavit. Bockas was carried to a Sandpoint Police patrol vehicle, where she allegedly slipped her handcuffs and allegedly swung on officers with a manacled hand, the affidavit said.

Bockas’ defense counsel, Public Defender Susie Jensen, is moving to discontinue a condition of pretrial release which requires her to submit to alcohol testing twice a week. Jensen argues the requirement should be lifted because her client has no history of alcohol-related charges and because it poses a financial hardship, according to court documents.

Bockas has no prior criminal history in the state of Idaho, according to the state’s iCourt database.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.