Trio faces perjury charges

SANDPOINT — Three people who testified in a Bonner County man’s preliminary hearing on felony assault charges are facing perjury charges.

Megan Albertson, Wendy Jo Cramer and Steven Craig Walkup are each charged with a lone count of perjury, a felony.

The trio is accused of perjuring themselves while testifying on behalf of Brandon Scott Cramer, who is accused of battering two people and threatening them with a pistol near Oldtown on Oct. 17. Wendy Jo Cramer, who is Brandon Cramer’s sister, is also accused of committing battery during the incident.

The three helped provide Brandon Cramer an alibi during an Nov. 8 preliminary hearing in Bonner County Magistrate Court on Nov. 8.

The testimony factored into a dismissal of the aggravated assault charges against Brandon Cramer, court records show.

Judge Justin Julian felt perjury was afoot due to the disparate accounts of the incident by witnesses called by the state and those called by the defense, according to a hearing transcript.

“There’s no reconciling the two stories between the state’s witnesses and the defense’s witnesses. But I can’t tell who’s lying,” Julian said.

The charges against Brandon Cramer were filed without prejudice, which allowed the state to refile them earlier this month.

The perjury charges emerged the same day the charges against Brandon Cramer were reinstated, court documents indicate.

Another preliminary hearing on the reinstated charges is set for Jan. 10, 2018.

Preliminary hearings on the perjury charges are also slated for next month.

Perjury is punishable by no less than one year and no more than 14 years in prison, according to Idaho Code.

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