Author: KIFI

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BLACKFOOT, Idaho (KIFI) — A woman is facing up to 7 years in prison after being found guilty of possession of methamphetamine.

Aubrey LeFevre was arrested last August in Blackfoot after officers found a bag of methamphetamine and a meth pipe in her clothes. 

She faces a penalty of up to seven years in prison and/or a $15,000 fine for her felony drug conviction, and up to one year of imprisonment and/or a $1,000 fine for her misdemeanor paraphernalia conviction, according to the Bingham County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Andrew N. Hart.

Her sentencing is scheduled for July 2nd. 

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CNN Newsource

By Jean Casarez, CNN

(CNN) — Bushy eyebrows. DNA on a knife sheath. Amazon purchase records.

The evidence that Judge Steven Hippler is allowing prosecutors to admit in the death penalty trial of Brian Kohberger is substantial.

Defendants in other high-profile death penalty cases have been down Kohberger’s road, faced with potentially making a life-or-death decision before a jury does it for them. Take a plea deal if prosecutors will agree and avoid a potential death sentence or go to trial?

Some defendants don’t want to take the risk of being sentenced to death so they plead guilty to murder charges and agree to live the rest of their life in state prison. Others assert their innocence and hope the strength of the defense will show reasonable doubt is on their side, so they go to trial.

Prosecutors aren’t required to entertain a plea deal to bargain away the death penalty but often they do.

Whether Kohberger is actually considering a plea deal in the killing of four University of Idaho students on November 13, 2022, is unknown. Not guilty pleas have been entered on his behalf.

The brutality of the killings of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin at an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, and the lack of clarity on Kohberger’s potential connections to the group of friends have made it one of the highest-profile cases in the US.

Due to a wide-ranging gag order, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and attorneys for victims’ families and witnesses are prohibited from saying anything publicly, aside from what is already in the public record.

How other defendants played it

In Idaho just last year, Chad Daybell was facing the death penalty, charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the deaths of his first wife and the two children of his current wife. The killings took place in small-town communities in Idaho, but the trial was moved to Boise to ensure Daybell’s right to a fair and impartial jury. For similar reasons, Kohberger’s trial was moved from Moscow to Boise.

Daybell decided to proceed to trial.

Last May he was convicted of all murder charges during the guilt phase of the trial. During the penalty phase, the jury found all aggravating factors beyond a reasonable doubt. He was then sentenced to death.

Notorious serial killer Gary Ridgway, also known as the Green River Killer, pleaded guilty in Washington State in June 2003 to 48 counts of aggravated murder in exchange for prosecutors not seeking the death penalty.

For his part, Ridgway had to provide complete truthful and candid information concerning his crimes and had to provide a written statement to the court describing what he did to all 48 victims and why. The prosecutor read the statement in court at sentencing.

Scott Peterson, accused of murdering his wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner, in central California in 2003, was offered a plea bargain early on in lieu of seeking the death penalty if he would tell them where the victims were.

He refused, maintaining his innocence, according to local prosecutors at the time, so they filed notice of intent to seek death.

Peterson was convicted for the murders in 2004, with the jury recommending death. He was sentenced in 2005 and put on death row in California. His death sentence was overturned in 2020 because of a jury issue. The next year, Peterson was resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is still seeking to get his conviction overturned.

In Florida, Casey Anthony was charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter Caylee. Indicted in 2008, prosecutors announced in 2009 they would be seeking death.

Anthony decided to proceed to trial. During the course of the trial, she was offered a plea to get death off the table. She refused the offer and ultimately was acquitted of all major charges by a unanimous jury.

Jurors must be willing to vote for death

In the Kohberger case, the judge has denied the defense team’s two motions to strike the death penalty, one on Kohberger‘s autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, and the other on a voluminous amount of discovery that defense attorneys say they can’t begin to look at because there isn’t time. The trial is in August, with jury selection beginning the end of July.

When prosecutors in June 2023 filed notice of intent to seek the death penalty, they alleged aggravating factors warranting death, which included the fact there were multiple victims, that the killings were heinous, atrocious and cruel and that the defendant would be a continuing threat to society.

As a result, before the trial itself begins this summer, during jury selection there will be an added layer to the process.

Selected jurors must be death qualified, meaning they are willing to vote for death after convicting Kohberger if they believe beyond a reasonable doubt that aggravating factors exist which warrant the ultimate punishment.

For a defendant considering how to proceed in a criminal trial, it is all about reasonable doubt. Reasonable doubt can lead to an out-and-out acquittal or even a mistrial, which can be a gift to the defendant if prosecutors decide to not try the case again.

DNA evidence key to prosecution’s case

Key evidence for prosecutors is the single source DNA found from a knife sheath found on a bed close to Mogen.

The single source profile was determined to be male and the probable identity of the DNA came from investigative genetic genealogy, which is the process of taking unknown DNA to public databases and finding relatives that share the profile.

Old-fashioned investigative work follows, looking at age, geographical location, and gender of relatives. That can determine a possible source of the unknown, genetic material.

In this case, the FBI did the testing along with some investigation early on, and the results culminated into the tip that led Idaho investigators to a Ph.D student in criminology at nearby Washington State University named Kohberger.

Doing forensic DNA testing from trash outside the Kohberger family home in northeastern Pennsylvania in December 2022 gave Idaho law enforcement the probable cause to arrest Kohberger.

A DNA profile obtained from the trash “identified a male as not being excluded as the biological father of the Suspect,” according to the probable cause affidavit.

Once that testing was confirmed, Kohberger was arrested in December 2022.

According to legal filings, buccal swab DNA testing from Kohberger himself, following the arrest, proved to be a “statistical match” to the DNA on the knife sheath.

Both sides have agreed they do not want the jury to hear about the genetic genealogy process in this case, but that it will only be referred to before the jury as a tip.

But the single source DNA identification on that KA-BAR knife sheath will come into evidence.

Legal documents give a preview on how the defense will counter this by questioning when and how the DNA on the sheath was transferred there.

DNA found under the nails of one of the victims has been determined to be inconclusive as to the defendant, a plus for the defense.

Amazon purchase records evidence allowed at trial

Along with DNA, the judge is also allowing purchase records of the alleged murder weapon.

Eight months before the killings, Kohberger purchased on Amazon a knife, sheath, and sharpener made by the same company as the KA-BAR sheath found at the crime scene, according to prosecutors’ court filings.

In a recent hearing, Judge Hippler noted the purchase was made under Kohberger’s name, and after the purchase searches were made on the Amazon account to find out where the items were during the shopping and delivery process.

After the homicides, on the same Amazon account, the purchaser looked at “knives” again, according to documents and oral arguments during a recent pre-trial hearing.

While the defense argued to keep this Amazon click activity out of the trial because the account is a family account, the judge responded by saying the purchase was under Kohberger’s particular name on the account and the evidence would come in.

Hippler is allowing the account’s click activity pertaining to knives and knife accessories, the payment method used, and details of items in the cart, including all items added to the cart and removed from the cart or wish listed in the shopping bag. The defense can cross-examine using an expert on the Amazon activity and purchases.

‘Bushy eyebrows’ testimony allowed

Another critical piece of evidence involves the identity of the attacker, who prosecutors allege is Kohberger.

One of the two surviving roommates in that home in the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, stepped out of her bedroom at that time and, according to the probable cause affidavit, “saw a figure clad in black clothing and a mask that covered the person’s mouth and nose walking towards her.”

The surviving roommate, identified as D.M., described the figure as 5 feet, 10 inches or taller, male, not very muscular, but athletically built with bushy eyebrows, according to the affidavit.

The defense at a recent hearing fought hard to keep that description out, especially “bushy eyebrows,” because they argued the roommate did not originally give that information to law enforcement. It didn’t come out until the second interview with police and one of the detectives asked her about the man’s eyebrows. D.M. did not independently bring it up.

The judge disagreed, allowing the witness to testify about it.

According to prosecutors, later on that morning, at 10:30 a.m., Kohberger took a close-up picture of himself in a bathroom. The jurors will be allowed to consider this photo and assess his eyebrows themselves.

Law restricts alibi defense

The judge has determined that an alibi instruction to the jury will not be given at the end of trial, unless the defendant can bring to the court more substantial evidence of an actual alibi.

Carving out an alibi has been difficult for the Kohberger defense because they have consistently maintained their client was out driving alone during the early morning hours of November 13, 2022.

The defense has offered an expert witness who would testify using location data from phone records to show approximately where the defendant was driving during some of those hours.

Hippler responded asking what witnesses were going to say, “He’s driving around looking at the stars?” The judge insisted to the defense, “You have to have someone testify to that.”

The judge determined the defense expert will be able to show that Kohberger was at a certain place until 2:50 a.m. That is when his phone was turned off, a little more than an hour before the killings took place.

The only other way for information to come in after that 2:50 a.m. phone shut off would be for Kohberger himself to take the stand.

Under Idaho law, before trial, a defendant must provide not only the specific place they were during the time the crimes were being committed but also names and addresses of those who saw the defendant at that alternate location.

Defense floats alternate suspect theory

Lead defense attorney Anne Taylor said at that hearing in April they are planning to call an expert witness who will say it’s likely that two people committed the crime with two weapons.

Taylor didn’t expand on the theory but later said she’s also chasing a lead on an alternate suspect.

The lead was buried in thousands of tips collected by law enforcement that Taylor said she is still combing through.

“We came across a tip that would appear to be an alternate suspect and we’re trying to work through that as rapidly as we can,” Taylor said. “It was quite a surprise to come up with that. There’s got to be more in there that I need to know…”

Kohberger’s legal team has previously said it plans to present evidence of alternate perpetrators ahead of trial.

Hippler has said there will be a May deadline for the defense to present that evidence because waiting for it to come up at trial would be too late. At this time nothing has been filed by the defense in the court’s docket.

No one can accurately predict what will happen in a trial. Jurors are selected based on their word that they can be fair and impartial in looking at the evidence.

But the emotion within those four walls of that Boise courtroom coming from the reality that four young lives were taken right as they were beginning their adulthood may be as strong a force as the evidence heard.

Kohberger, however, has a presumption of innocence under the Constitution, and reasonable doubt also can be a strong force in the mind of a juror as they deliberate.

As Taylor said to the court during the change of venue hearing last year, Kohberger “is innocent, your Honor, but it’s the country that has decided he is guilty.”

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™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

Jean Casarez is a licensed attorney in Texas and Nevada. She is CNN’s trial correspondent.

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CNN

CNN

By John Fritze, CNN

(CNN) — Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter, a Republican appointee who retired from the high court in 2009 after voting consistently with its liberal wing, has died, the Supreme Court announced on Friday.

He was 85 years old.

Souter, a low-key New Englander who eschewed the national spotlight, was known by some as the “stealth nominee” when President George H.W. Bush nominated him in 1990 to replace the liberal lion William Brennan. Advisers assured the president that Souter would move the court to the right – a misreading that continues to reverberate today.

The Supreme Court said Souter died “peacefully” on Thursday at his home in New Hampshire, but did not disclose the cause.

“Justice David Souter served our court with great distinction for nearly twenty years,” Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement. “He brought uncommon wisdom and kindness to a lifetime of public service.”

Measured, scholarly and faithful to the idea of judicial restraint, those who knew Souter said his approach to the law shouldn’t have surprised anyone who was paying close attention.

“The whole point of it was that it was a Constitution and a Bill of Rights for the indefinite future,” Souter said during a 2012 event. “The application of these values, the problem of trying to make them work in practice, was an assignment that was left to the future.”

It did not take conservatives long to regret Souter’s nomination. After less than two years on the bench, he helped orchestrate a significant opinion that upheld the central tenet of Roe v. Wade, that the right to abortion was implicitly guaranteed by the Constitution. It wasn’t until 2022 – three decades later – that the court ultimately overturned Roe.

And he would go on to side with the court’s liberal bloc in cases dealing with civil rights, affirmative action and voting.

His tenure inspired a rallying cry on the right – “No More Souters” – and led to a more rigorous ideological vetting of candidates. Subsequent nominees from both parties – including today’s justices – are less likely to break with the party that appointed them.

Justice Clarence Thomas, who joined the court about a year after Souter, remembered him as a “wonderful colleague” who was “kind, honorable, and decent,” in a statement released by the Supreme Court on Friday. Justice Samuel Alito, who also overlapped with Souter, said he was impressed with his “learning, his dedication to the law, and his delightfully old-fashioned ways.”

“I was very sorry to see him retire, but he sorely missed his native New Hampshire and his book-laden home there, and I was happy that he was able to spend the last 16 years of his life in the surroundings he cherished living the kind of private life he preferred,” Alito said a statement released by the court.

“David Souter was a unique man with a special kindness and grace. He joined the court purely out of a sense of duty to the country,” said Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who replaced Souter on the bench after he retired in 2009.

Attorney General Pam Bondi described Souter in a social media post Friday as a “brilliant man who devoted his life to public service and our courts.”

Contemplative, humble jurist

Souter wrote a widely cited First Amendment unanimous opinion in 1995 that permitted organizers of a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Boston to deny a place for an LGBTQ group. A decade later, he wrote for a 5-4 majority finding that three counties in Kentucky had violated the Frist Amendment when they displayed framed copies of the Ten Commandments in courthouses and public schools.

“The divisiveness of religion in current public life is inescapable,” Souter wrote. “This is no time to deny the prudence of understanding the establishment clause to require the government to stay neutral on religious belief, which is reserved for the conscience of the individual.”

He was often understated in his opinions. In a 2009 concurrence in a case involving Navajo Nation mineral rights, Souter put down only two sentences.

“I am not through regretting that my position” in an early case “did not carry the day,” he wrote. “But it did not, and I agree that the precedent of that case calls for the result reached here.”

In another break with today’s norms, Souter stepped down after 19 years on the Supreme Court, seeking a return to his contemplative life in New Hampshire. Never married and never fond of the Washington social scene, Souter was only 69 when he stepped down – far younger than most departing justices.

His retirement gave President Barack Obama, a Democrat, his first chance to name a Supreme Court justice. Obama chose Sonia Sotomayor, a self-described “fiery Latina” to fill the shoes of the low-key New England native Souter. Today, Sotomayor is the senior member of the court’s three-justice liberal bloc.

Souter, happy to leave the politics and agitation of Washington behind, spent his retirement in New Hampshire, often sitting on lower courts to fill a vacancy when necessary. His preference for a quieter life was evident during his time at the Supreme Court where he spurned technology and wrote his opinions in longhand. Asked if there would ever be cameras in the courtroom, he famously said, “over my dead body.”

A stinging defeat for Souter was the 2000 decision Bush v. Gore that cleared the way for Bush’s presidency.

“He was very aggrieved” by the decision, said Ralph Neas, the founder for People for the American Way. “He believed it was the ultimate politicization of the Supreme Court.”

‘Not only liberty, but equality’

David Hackett Souter was born in Massachusetts in 1939 but he grew up and attended grade school in New Hampshire. His father was a banker and his mother was a store clerk. He spent the summers as a child in his grandparents’ house in New Hampshire, and attended Harvard, Oxford and Harvard Law School.

In 1976, Souter became New Hampshire’s attorney general, taking over for Warren Rudman. Rudman, a centrist Republican, would go on to serve in the US Senate and become one of Souter’s greatest champions.

Despite stiff opposition from the NAACP and the National Organization for Women, Souter was confirmed 90-9 by the Senate.

Douglas Kmiec, a lawyer who served in the Bush administration, said that Souter “was tabula rasa” when he showed up on the bench and called him a “surprise.”

“The law for him, unlike many of his conservative colleagues, was not an abstract set of rules totally divorced from its effect in the real world,” said Peter Rubin a former law clerk. “It wasn’t just an intellectual puzzle for him.”

Some of his habits were idiosyncratic, especially for Washington. Souter was known to be a charming guest, but he didn’t go out much. Instead, he preferred solo pursuits like reading and hiking in the New Hampshire mountains.

In 2016, at a joint appearance discussing the role of food at the Supreme Court, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sotomayor revealed his unusual lunch habit.

“My dear colleague David Souter,” Ginsburg said, with a hint of distaste, ate one thing for lunch most days: plain yogurt.

“I understood,” Sotomayor said, “he had an apple.”

Yes, Ginsburg replied.

Sotomayor added: “He ate the core.”

After retiring from the Supreme Court, Souter continued to occasionally hear cases on the Boston-based 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals. He also took part in civics education curriculum reform efforts in New Hampshire, the court said.

“His depth of commitment to the rule of law, his reverence for the Constitution, his faith in the American legal tradition, and his deep respect for the profession of law had a profound influence on all of us who had the privilege of sitting with him,” said 1st Circuit Chief Judge David Barron.

In 2010, Souter set out his philosophy during a commencement speech at Harvard.

“We want not only liberty, but equality as well,” he said.

“These paired desires of ours can clash, and when they do, a court is forced to choose between them, between one constitutional good and another one,” he said. “The court has to decide which of our approved desires has the better claim, right here, right now, and a court has to do more than read fairly when it makes this kind of choice.”

This story has been updated with additional developments.

Ariane de Vogue contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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Kailey Galaviz

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – Mother’s Day is this Sunday. If you don’t have a gift for mom just yet, there’s still time, but not much.

Fred Meyer Corporate Affairs Manager Tiffany Sanders and Idaho Mother of the Year Charity Haderlie joined our Local News 8 in the Morning crew to share some ideas and tell you what most moms really want.

Click the video to watch.

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Travis Richards

UPDATE 9:01 P.M.—

FORT HALL, Idaho (KIFI) — The structure fire that began earlier this evening in the Michaud Creek area of the Fort Hall Reservation has been successfully contained, with full control expected around 9 PM.

Fort Hall Fire EMS confirmed containment at 8:07 P.M.

The fire is believed to have originated in a burn pit, which then spread to a pile of tires, igniting a mobile home. One mobile home was completely lost, and a second suffered severe damage.

Two other homes and outbuildings were threatened, but no additional structures were damaged.The fire also spread to surrounding brush and fields, burning approximately 5 acres. Crews remain on scene to monitor for hot spots and secure the fire perimeter.

Two firefighters experienced heat exhaustion during the response.

Both received prompt medical attention and were treated and released.

There are no reported civilian injuries, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

ORIGINAL:

FORT HALL, Idaho (KIFI)-A fire broke out around 6:20PM at a mobile home in the Michaud Creek area of the Fort Hall Reservation. Fort Hall Fire EMS is leading the response, with support from Power County and North Bannock Fire crews.

As of 7:00 PM, the fire is not yet contained and has spread to nearby fields. Firefighters are actively working to control the blaze and protect surrounding areas.

There are no known injuries at this time. The cause is under investigation.

The public is asked to avoid the area to ensure responder safety.

More updates will follow as information becomes available.

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Phillip Willis

DRIGGS, Idaho (KIFI) — A town hall meeting for the community of Teton County began at 6:00 p.m. Thursday. It’s purpose, to allow the community to discuss their thoughts on the Grand Targhee Resort’s plans to expand. Brad Wolfe opened the meeting, and turned the time over to presenters who laid out several downsides and considerations to be made concerning the expansion.

“I believe that they should be allowed to expand,” says Craig Van Wagner, a snow sports enthusiast who has traveled the world looking for the best slopes. “I mean they’re very very careful about their environmental impact and making sure everything is preserved as much as possible.”

“The DEIS is a biased, flawed document with misinformation and omissions. Grand Teton paid for this study, so that explains the biased right there,” said Howie Garber, a concerned citizen who came with prepared remarks to the meeting.

A 2022 study showed that an expansion would economically benefit Wyoming, but that Idaho would “experience only costs” according to former County Commissioner Cindy Riegel, who championed the $50k study. Riegel said expansion would not be in Idaho’s favor, and according to Commissioner Michael Whitfield, she is still concerned about the expansion years after the completion of the study.

The three current commissioners have been debating this topic fiercely.

Things came to a head a few months back when the commission could not decide who to send to an open house held by Grand Targhee Resort on April 10th. Commissioner Michael Whitfield tapped Rob Marin, the county’s point person in the expansion so far, who would share the results of the study. Commissioner Ron James wanted an elected official, himself, to represent Teton county instead. He said Marin was not open minded about the expansion. This meeting is part of the commission’s attempt to serve their community better by getting their thoughts about the expansion.

Geordie Gillett, owner of the Grand Targhee Resort, was invited to the meeting but did not attend.

A representative from the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Jay Pence, was the first speaker of the meeting. He says the expansion is a complex situation with many facets to consider, including the cumulative effects of the expansion.

Hilary Eisen, a representative from Winter Wildlands Alliance, spoke about the current forest plans. In a brief summary, she spoke about how wildlife would be affected by expansion, including white bark pines, wood peckers and keeled bladderpod. She also spoke about the aquatic influence zones and concerns about what will be done with waste water in isolated structures.

Kim Keeley, the Teton county clerk, spoke about the economic detriment that the expansion would have on Teton county. She talked about how the city budget was not robust enough to handle the current situation. She says the need to repair roads as tourism increases would be devastating, and that tourists will not increase the sales tax revenue of the county because of the way taxes are divided up by Idaho.

“I’m all about building bridges, but it sounds like we need to build a toll booth at the state line,” shouted an attendee. Others agreed, at least in principle, with the statement.

The meeting was recorded, and can be found online.

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Noah Farley

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — Idaho Governor Brad Little visited Idaho Falls Thursday, May 8, to highlight the 2025 legislative wins, as well as securing funding for water, public education, and the Idaho LAUNCH program.

Governor Little spoke about the progress made to protect Idaho’s water and promote public education during the 2025 legislative session.

With fire season coming up, Governor Little says Idaho is learning from and with other western states to keep firefighters and communities safe.

“Minimize private and public property damage, but also do it effectively to where the taxpayers don’t have to write great big blank checks,” said Little.

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Ariel Jensen

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — The eyes of the Catholic world were turned toward Vatican City Thursday, as the conclave announced the historic election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who has taken the name Pope Leo XIV.

“Peace be with you” were the first words spoken by new Pope Leo XIV to the watching world, and the East Idaho Catholic community watched as the first American pope, once considered impossible, became a reality.

Father Flores from Pope Saint John Paul II Parish in Idaho Falls recalls where he was when the white smoke was spotted over the Vatican.

“I had gone to a hospital call, and I was in my car. I was in the car for less than a minute when I heard on the Catholic station that the announcement was coming. So really, I got in my car. And 60 seconds later, I’m hearing the announcement of Robert Prevost as the pope,” said Father Flores.

Father Flores tells us the announcement of a new pope is very exciting, especially since “he’s an American to boot.”

The Parish will host a bilingual mass on Thursday night, May 8, at 7 p.m. at the Holy Rosary Church in Idaho Falls in celebration of the new pope. All are welcome to attend.

Regional religious leaders extend prayers to Pope Leo XIV

In response to Pope Leo XIV’s election, regional religious leaders have expressed their desire to work together toward following “the example of Jesus Christ.” The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued the following statement on Thursday, May 8, 2025:

“On behalf of the leaders and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we extend heartfelt prayers and greetings to Pope Leo XIV. This significant moment in time for the Catholic Church is a reminder of the enduring importance of faith to people everywhere.“As fellow followers of Jesus Christ, we look forward to continued opportunities to work together to bless the lives of God’s children everywhere. May we strive to follow the example of Jesus Christ to care for the poor and needy, become peacemakers and create a world where faith and goodness can flourish.”

– The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

 

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Sam Ross

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) —  May marks mental health awareness month, and local veterans are highlighting resources to help their fellow servicemen and women struggling with their mental health.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, those who have served in the armed forces are twice as likely to develop mental illness or commit suicide as civilians. Suicide is also the second leading cause of death for veterans under age 45.

Bannock County Veterans’ Services officers say there are resources for veterans living with mental illness.

“If you’re struggling, you don’t have to do it alone. There are things that we can do to help. Nobody has to suffer with mental illness by themselves,” said Veteran Service Officer Melissa Hartman.

Family or friends of veterans struggling with mental health issues or thoughts of suicide are being encouraged to call the suicide and crisis lifeline at 988. For more information on mental health resources for local veterans, click HERE.

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Seth Ratliff

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) — Two men, one from Pocatello and the other from Utah, have been sentenced to several months in federal prison after being convicted in separate and unrelated cases involving fentanyl distribution in eastern Idaho.

Thursday, Acting U.S. Attorney Justin Whatcott announced that 32-year-old David Erik Traversa, of Utah, and 38-year-old Casey Steven Evans, of Pocatello, were sentenced to 156 months and 60 months in federal prison, respectively, for possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute it.

Traversa’s case began in May of 2024, when officers initiated a traffic stop and arrested an unnamed individual carrying 200 fentanyl pills, according to court documents. Police discovered two hotel room keys during the stop and subsequently applied for and were issued a search warrant to investigate the hotel rooms.

David Erik Traversa

Courtesy Bannock County Jail

According to court documents, in the search of the rooms, officers found Traversa overdosing, and immediately began lifesaving measures, transporting the 32-year-old by ambulance to a local hospital, where he received treatment for the nonfatal overdose.

Throughout their search, law enforcement discovered multiple fentanyl pills and drug paraphernalia used to package the drugs for distribution. While treating him, hospital staff also discovered a black drawstring bag holding over 500 fentanyl pills attached to Traversa’s genitals. According to court documents, including the drugs seized in the traffic stop, on his person, and in the hotel room, the 32-year-old possessed 84.42 grams.

Traversa pleaded guilty to the charge in November 2024. In this week’s sentencing, Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered the Utahn to serve five years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

Casey Evan’s case also began in May of 2024, when law enforcement officers stopped a blue Range Rover.

Casey Steven Evans

Courtesy Bannock County Jail

During the traffic stop, the officers developed probable cause to search the vehicle and discovered a black metal safe in the trunk containing 107.94 grams of fentanyl pills and a loaded handgun, according to court documents. Upon further search of the vehicle, the officers found another loaded handgun on the front passenger floor.

The Pocatello man pleaded guilty to the charge in February 2025. Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye also ordered Evans to serve five years of supervised release following his 60-month prison sentence.

Acting U.S. Attorney Whatcott praised the efforts of the BADGES Task Force, which is funded by the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program. This task force includes the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, the Idaho State Police, the Pocatello Police Department, and the Chubbuck Police Department.

The information above comes from Acting U.S. Attorney Justin Whatcott.

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