Bath salts suspect waives prelim hearing

SANDPOINT — A Sagle woman suspected of going on bath salts-fueled bender waived her right to a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.

Heather Meadow Phillips is scheduled to be arraigned in 1st District Court on charges of second-degree arson, simple battery, battery on a law officer, driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a collision.

The state is seeking an additional burglary charge, although a judge has so far declined to find probable cause to sustain the offense, court records show.

The raft of charges date back to Aug. 16, when Phillips allegedly barged into a stranger’s residence on Shop Road and took items. When the home’s occupant intervened, Phillips allegedly threw a powder substance on him and fled.

Phillips, 43, is further accused of crashing her sport utility vehicle through a large chain link fence and into two parked vehicles, one of which she set fire to. Phillips was found at Stacey’s Country Kitchen off U.S. Highway 95. She was acting erratically and mentioned bath salts, which may have been a reference to a family of recreational designer drugs known to induce hallucinations.

Phillips allegedly kicked a deputy as she was being taken into custody, court records indicate.

Court documents indicate that authorities believe Phillips was under the influence of methamphetamine and bath salts because of her combative and delusional behavior. A toxicology report in the case is pending.

Phillips is free on her own recognizance while the case is pending, according to the Idaho Supreme Court Data Repository.