A woman pleaded not guilty after being indicted on involuntary manslaughter for allegedly leaving in an alley a 24-year-old man who ended up dead.

Jalene B. Powaukee, 40, of Lapwai, was arraigned to district court Wednesday morning by 2nd District Judge Mark Monson at the Nez Perce County Courthouse in Lewiston. The case stemmed from a charge for failure to report the death of Desmond G. L. Oatman on March 18, 2022. That charge was dismissed in June and Powaukee was later indicted by a grand jury on the involuntary manslaughter charge.

Monson read the indictment in court that charged Powaukee with felony involuntary manslaughter which states that Powaukee allegedly killed Oatman by leaving him in an alley in Lewiston where a reasonable person would conclude that he would die and also showed disregard for human life. The indictment was signed June 26 by the presiding grand juror.

Powaukee faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison as well as a $10,000 penalty.

Monson read the information and asked Powaukee if she understood the charges and the potential penalties and she replied yes. When Monson asked how she pleaded to the charges Powaukee replied “not guilty.”    

Monson then asked attorneys about scheduling a jury trial. Nez Perce County Deputy Prosecutor Jazz Patzer asked for the maximum amount of time the court would allow within speedy trial limits because there are several witnesses needed for the case. Idaho law requires a trial be held within six months from the date a defendant is arraigned if they don’t waive their right to speedy trial, so Monson set the trial for Nov. 20.

Powaukee’s public defender, Lawrence Moran, said that he intended to file 12B pretrial motions. Those types of motions must be filed within 28 days after a not guilty plea or a week before trial, whichever is earlier. For felony cases, those motions have to be brought before the court within 14 after they are filed or 48 hours before trial, whichever is earlier. The motions pertain to specific objections, such as the proceedings in the prosecution of the case; issues with the complaint, indictment or information; suppressing illegally obtained evidence; and dismissing the case because the defendant has already been prosecuted for a particular crime.

Moran asked Monson to set dates for those motions to be heard within the necessary timeframe and before Oct. 25 so it won’t affect the length of Powaukee’s custody status. Moran already requested transcripts from the grand jury indictment because those records are sealed.  

Powaukee also has a probation violation matter that was previously heard by Monson but the attorneys agreed to handle that case within the timeline of the new charge.

In the involuntary manslaughter charge, law enforcement alleged that Powaukee drove to an alley behind 315 20th St. N in Lewiston where she left Oatman. When Lewiston medics arrived, they began life-saving measures, including administering Narcan, a substance that counteracts an overdose of opioids. An autopsy report determined Oatman died as the result of an “unattended drug overdose” because of multi-drug intoxication that included methamphetamine, ethanol and fentanyl. Investigators used various surveillance videos that allegedly connected Powaukee to the incident, according to the probable cause affidavit in the initial charge of failure to report a death. 

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