Fatal shooting has residents on edge

COCOLALLA — Authorities are closing in on a charging decision following the shooting death of a Cocolalla man last month, according to Bonner County Sheriff’s officials.

James Michael Costello Jr. was found shot to death in a municipal transportation bus fashioned into a dwelling on the morning of Nov. 12. Deputies conducted a welfare check on Costello after his father, James Michael Costello Sr. made cryptic remarks to Idaho State Police following a wrong-way, high-speed chase on U.S. Highway 95 that ended near Athol.

Motorists on the highway reported that the elder Costello was driving southbound on the divided highway’s northbound lanes of travel, according to the arrest report. A pursuing law officer ultimately stopped the elder Costello’s flight by using a patrol vehicle to bump the rear of the man’s GMC Sierra pickup truck, causing it to lose control and crash on state Highway 53 in Kootenai County.

James Costello Sr., 71, was arrested for felony eluding and driving under the influence. He was scheduled to undergo a preliminary hearing on the eluding charge on Friday in Kootenai County, but the hearing appears to have been reset for next month, according to Idaho’s online iCourt database.

The elder Costello remains held at the Kootenai County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bail, according to the that county’s sheriff’s office inmate roster.

Sheriff’s investigators in Bonner County said the elder Costello is the only suspect in the younger Costello’s slaying.

The killing off Pinewood Lane, which branches off from Cocolalla Loop Road on the west side of the lake, has put residents on edge. Three neighbors described the Costello’s presence at the lake as at best odd and at worst malignant and even threatening over the past four or so years.

The younger Costello was known for roaming the rural neighborhood and turning up on people’s doorsteps shoeless and shirtless looking for work or just to have a look around. One woman said she installed a motion-activated wildlife camera in response, which captured a figure lurking around with a flashlight, although the footage was too grainy to identify the person.

Another resident was unnerved by a dearth of information being released by authorities.

“We just don’t know anything,” another Cocolalla resident said.

A third resident said the Costellos’ trespassing and thefts have been clearly documented on other game cameras, but it has not resulted in charges.

“We got them on camera,” said the third resident.

The three residents spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal from the surviving Costello, who has reportedly made violent threats against those with whom he has disagreed.

Bonner County Undersheriff Ror Lakewold said investigators are set to meet with Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall next week to consider a charging decision.

The sheriff’s office and the prosecutor’s office said there was no public safety threat because the only suspect in the younger Costello’s shooting is in custody with a substantial bond.

“We will expedite a charging decision if it looks like he could make bail,” Undersheriff Ror Lakewold said on Friday.

Marshall said the case remains under investigation and the elder Costello’s pretrial release is doubtful.

“Our detectives are in communication with the Kootenai jail and it is highly unlikely Costello will be released in the near future,” Marshall said.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.