COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — The jury presiding over a former Idaho State Police (ISP) trooper's trial won't be polled following the suspect's arrest at the airport over the weekend.
Monday morning, the Kootenai County judge presiding over the trial revoked Daniel Howard's bond. He will remain in Kootenai County custody through the duration of the trial.
Howard is charged with the first-degree murder of his wife and has been on trial since March 4. The jury is expected to start deliberations Tuesday morning.
Daniel Charles Howard, a former ISP trooper currently on trial for the murder of his wife, was arrested by Spokane International Airport police and booked into the Spokane County Jail on Friday night. Howard's defense attorney argued Monday that the jury should be polled from the case because the news coverage of his arrest may have tainted the jury's view, but the judge ultimately ruled the jury would remain on the case.
Jason Johnson, Howard's defense attorney, claimed Howard was not at the airport attempting to leave the area on Friday night. Instead, Johnson argued that Howard was returning a rental car for a friend. He said Howard did not have any bags or tickets in his car and was not in the airport terminal.
Johnson said he worries the news coverage of Howard's arrest could have impacted the jury's view on the case and requested to poll the jury.
The prosecution argued that polling the jury is not necessary because all jurors were instructed not to discuss the case or watch any news coverage of the case. Prosecutors said there is no evidence suggesting the jury has violated the court's orders.
The judge ultimately decided not to poll the jury, stating he is confident all jurors are following his instructions about avoiding news coverage.
KREM 2 learned Monday afternoon law enforcement had been keeping a close eye on Howard and that's how they became aware he was at the airport.
Prosecutors also told the judge that at the time of his arrest, there was a gun in Howard's car. Attorneys gave closing arguments Monday afternoon. The jury is expected to start deliberations Tuesday morning.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: Search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
Apple TV: Search "Spokane News from KREM" in the Apple store or follow this link.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.