Stories in this Regional News Roundup are excerpted from weekly newspapers from around the region. This is part two, with part one having appeared in Saturday’s Tribune.
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COUNCIL, Idaho — The man who fired on two Adams County deputies near New Meadows a year ago before eluding police in a five-day manhunt was sentenced to 25 years in prison last week.
Bill James, 25, of Cambridge, was given the maximum sentence for aggravated assault on a police officer March 16 by 3rd Judicial District Judge Christopher Nye.
“This is a disturbing case,” Nye said before sentencing James in front of about 50 people in the Adams County Courthouse in Council.
James will serve a minimum of 10 years in prison, but could be released on parole for good behavior during the remaining 15 years of his sentence.
James fired about a dozen shots from his semi-automatic rifle at two Adams County Sheriff’s deputies from a hiding place at Quality Feed on Idaho Highway 55, 3 miles east of New Meadows on March 29, 2020.
Both deputies were pinned behind their patrol cars as James continued firing and began approaching on foot.
Off-duty Idaho Department of Fish and Game Officer Randy Martinez, who happened to be visiting a friend across the highway, went to the scene and returned fire with his pistol, prompting James to flee.
James eluded a massive manhunt coordinated by Idaho State Police for five days before being arrested without incident back at Quality Feed.
The plea agreement requires James to pay $5,000 to the two deputies, Nikki Sauerland and Randall Benavides.
James also must pay $35,000 for damage caused to Sauerland’s patrol car, which was riddled with bullets during the shootout.
James pleaded guilty to the two aggravated assault charges in December in exchange for the state dropping six lesser charges tied to the shootout.
“We get these convictions risk-free, with no appeals allowed,” Adams County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Boyd said.
“I’m sure we would have won this at trial, but he also could appeal his whole life, costing taxpayers even more,” Boyd said.
Boyd sought the maximum sentence handed down by Nye, while James’ attorney, Aaron Hooper, of Boise, argued for a 15-year prison sentence with eligibility for parole after three years.
When asked by Nye to comment, James turned at one point to look out at those in the audience.
“The person I was and the person I’ve been in the past is not the person I am now,” he said.
“I’m taking my time in solitary confinement to reset my moral compass to make sure which way I’m going is true north,” James said.
— Drew Dodson, The Star-News (McCall), Thursday
State testing may not happen for Colfax students
COLFAX — The Colfax School District may not have to undergo annual tests after a year of hybrid, online and in-person learning.
Superintendent Jerry Pugh updated the school board Monday night.
The usual testing of 700,000 students statewide will drop to a sampling of 50,000, according to the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
“It could be that Colfax will have nobody tested,” Pugh said.
The sampling will be targeted in the aim of creating the best sample to offer a snapshot of education over the past year.
Pugh and other eastern Washington superintendents took in an Educational Service District 101 meeting March 18 with Chris Reykdal, state superintendent of public instruction.
Pugh and other superintendents previously had bristled at the original call to test students for learning at the same standards in a normal year.
— Garth Meyer, Whitman County Gazette (Colfax), Thursday
