Nez Perce County cases move to District of Idaho

Two criminal cases in Nez Perce County have moved to the federal level after receiving indictments.

Eric S. Taylor was indicted Tuesday in the District of Idaho for distribution of fentanyl resulting in serious bodily injury and death, a felony. The penalty for the charge is 20 years to life in prison, at least three years of supervised release as well as a $1 million fine.

The indictment alleges Taylor distributed a substance that contained fentanyl that resulted in the death of Samantha G. Russell. He was indicted by a grand jury in Nez Perce County in April 2023 on charges of involuntary manslaughter and delivering fentanyl, a controlled substance, both felonies.

Taylor pleaded guilty in February to involuntary manslaughter and possession of fentanyl just before his trial was scheduled to take place. Before Taylor was sentenced, his public defender Lawrence Moran found that one of the witnesses who was set to testify at trial made a deal with Nez Perce County Chief Deputy Prosecutor April Smith to have charges against her dismissed as well as have considerations made for some of her family members. Moran filed a motion to dismiss the case with prejudice or reopen discovery, which is the process for attorneys to share evidence in a case that will be used at trial. Smith said the information was impeachment evidence, which is evidence used to discredit a witness’s testimony, and it doesn’t need to be disclosed before trial.

Second District Judge Mark Monson wrote in his ruling in September that he was going to give Taylor his plea back and exclude the prosecutor’s office from calling the witness at trial. Taylor revoked his plea and Monson set a trial for Jan. 21, but the case will now go through the federal court.

In another case, Michael B. Hendren was indicted Tuesday in the District of Idaho on four counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a child and one count of transfer of obscene matter to a minor, all felonies. The penalty for attempted sexual exploitation of a child is 15-30 years in prison, five years to life of supervised release as well as a $250,000 fine. The penalty for transfer of obscene material is up to 10 years in prison, five years to life of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

The indictment alleges Hendren attempted to get minors to engage in sexually explicit material for visual media that would be transported or transmitted through a cell phone. It also alleges Hendren transferred obscene material to one of the victims who was younger than 16.

Hendren was charged in Nez Perce County for seven counts of child sexual abuse and three counts of enticing children over the internet between May 1 and May 31. The incidents allegedly happened on Kik, a social media app, where Hendren allegedly sent and requested nude photos.

Brewster may be contacted at kbrewster@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2297.