Trial set in permit violation case

SANDPOINT — A Bonner County woman is set to stand trial this summer for failing to obtain a building location permit.

County officials took the rare step of prosecuting Leora Michelle Brass-Hand criminally after she allegedly failed to heed several written notices requiring her to obtain the permit for the placement of a manufactured home, court records indicate. However, some of those notices were returned as undeliverable.

Brass-Hand, 44, was issued several criminal summonses to appear in Bonner County Magistrate Court to answer to the misdemeanor charge, although they did not prompt her appearance, court records indicate. A bench warrant was issued for her arrest after she failed to appear in court in February, although that warrant was quashed after her defense counsel advised the court that Brass-Hand was hospitalized at the time of the hearing.

Failing to obtain a building location permit is punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. A pretrial settlement agreement in the case is recommending a suspended five-day prison term and a $500 fine, court records show.

Pamela Berube, a compliance investigator with the Bonner County Planning Department, discovered the home on Breezy Way, southwest of Priest River, in November 2016, which triggered the issuance of violation notices.

A magistrate court jury trial in the case is set for July 13.

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