Man arrested after trafficking charges are refiled

A Lewiston man who was charged with trafficking fentanyl in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley had his charges refiled and was arrested shortly after they were dismissed.

Joshua E. Hescock, 33, of Lewiston, appeared at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Nez Perce County Courthouse for his preliminary hearing. Nez Perce County Prosecutor Justin Coleman requested a continuance because he hadn’t received lab results for the drugs, but Hescock declined to waive his right to a speedy trial.

Coleman then had Magistrate Judge Karin Seubert dismiss the charges. Later that day, charges were refiled and a judge signed an arrest warrant. Hescock was arrested at 4 p.m. Wednesday on the refiled charges.

Even though it’s the same charge, double jeopardy doesn’t apply at the preliminary hearing level because it’s not a trial.

Hescock appeared before Seubert on Thursday and will have a status conference Dec. 12.

Coleman said in a statement that refiling the charges restarts the 14-21 day window to have a preliminary hearing, which allows for more time to get the lab results back. The Idaho State Police lab does the testing and the process usually takes three to six weeks, which is outside of the 14-21 day limit for a speedy trial.

A preliminary hearing also has to take place within 14 days if the defendant is in custody and 21 if the person is out of custody. If the preliminary hearing is outside of the speedy trial deadline the defendant can waive their right or a judge can find good cause to continue.

Hescock was initially arrested last week after a year long investigation that alleges he and Kimberlee A. Perrigo, 39, of Lewiston, had more than 1,000 fentanyl pills they were delivering to and from Spokane to the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and appeared in court Nov. 21. The preliminary hearing wouldn’t have been able to be rescheduled when the two-week limit runs out Monday.

During their investigations, law enforcement perform a narcotics identification field test when they file charges. However, Coleman said that judges require certified lab results to establish probable cause at the preliminary hearing before the case moves forward.

As far as solutions, Coleman said the testing process can’t be accelerated to fit inside the preliminary hearing timeline because the lab is used by the entire state and cases in Nez Perce County aren’t higher on the priority list than other cases. The right to a speedy trial is granted by the Sixth Amendment and can’t be changed.

Coleman also said that the issues of the timing of the lab results and the speedy trial don’t happen often because the prosecutor’s office works with defense counsel to prevent it.

Coleman said that having to dismiss charges and refile them places a burden on the justice system.

“The prosecutor’s office has a balancing act to prosecute cases, not violate a defendant’s rights, satisfy the judges preliminary hearing, and keep the case progressing through the system so it doesn’t clog the courts or the jail,” Coleman said in a statement.

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