Hearing reset in manslaughter case

SANDPOINT — A Clark Fork man's preliminary hearing in a vehicular manslaughter case was postponed Wednesday because autopsy results are still pending.

The hearing, in which a judge determines if there's sufficient evidence to bind Robert Joseph Harp over to stand trial in 1st District, was reset for April 14. Harp is charged with aggravated driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter.

Harp, 44, is accused of being under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the daytime crash on U.S. Highway 95 on Feb. 23, according to court documents.

Harp told an Idaho State Police trooper he was driving southbound when he drifted toward the roadside ditch and overcorrected, which put him into the path of northbound traffic. Harp's Dodge Shadow hatchback collided with an oncoming Ford Fiesta driven by Larry Court, a 69-year-old Spokane Valley, Wash., resident.

The collision happened in Cocolalla, near the Overlake View Road intersection.

Trooper Samuel Christensen observed that Harp appeared to have impaired memory and struggled to focus on their conversation. Harp's speech was slurred and thick-tongued, while his eyes were glassy and bloodshot, according to the trooper's probable cause affidavit.

After failing two field sobriety tests, the trooper questioned whether Harp if he had consumed any alcohol prior to the crash. Harp denied drinking, but admitted using meth about four hours before the collision, the affidavit said. A breath-alcohol test detected no alcohol in his system, but a Ponderay Police drug-recognition expert determined he was under the influence of an intoxicant, the affidavit said.

Blood and urine samples were collected, but their results are not divulged in court files. Prior to being booked into the jail, the trooper was advised that Court succumbed to his injuries in the collision, according to court documents.

Harp is being charged as a persistent violator due to two prior felony convictions for meth possession in 2017 and 2018, a criminal complaint said. A conviction on the underlying charges could add a prison term of 15 years to life.

Vehicular manslaughter is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, while aggravated DUI is punishable by up to five years.

Harp was ordered held at the Bonner County Jail on with bail set at $250,000 and a public defender has been appointed to represent him, court records show. A motion for a reduction in bail was denied after he waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and followed on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.