Kidnapping charge is reinstated

PRIEST RIVER — A kidnapping charge against a Bonner County man has been reinstated, court records show.

The case against Jason Courtney Kaelin was abruptly dismissed on the eve of his trial in 1st District Court, but was swiftly reinstated, court records show.

Kaelin, 38, was charged with second-degree kidnapping in connection with a June 3 incident in which he allegedly attacked a woman after she broke up with him. The woman told Priest River Police she agreed to have dinner with Kaelin and said she was hit in the face and head as Kaelin drove along the south side of the Pend Oreille River, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The woman, 35, told police Kaelin threatened to torture and kill her. She asked him to stop the car but he refused. The woman was dangling her feet out of the moving car on Dufort Road and managed to escape and take refuge in a vehicle that was following theirs, the affidavit said.

The dismissal came on the day before the Kaelin’s trial was to start in 1st District Court. A reason for the dismissal is not specified, although court documents indicate witnesses in the case were described as “reluctant” during a preliminary hearing.

The alleged victim told police she did not want to be responsible for criminal charges and said she feared him, according to the affidavit.

On the stand, the alleged victim denied Kaelin hit her and could not explain her injuries, which were photographed, court documents indicate. Despite the shaky testimony, Judge Justin Julian ruled there was enough evidence to justify trying Kaelin.

Kaelin was being held on a felony drug possession charge in Kootenai County as his Bonner County case neared trial, records show.

A preliminary in the revived Bonner County case is set for Dec. 18.

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