Fatal overdose at Post Falls transitional home prompts five arrests, sheriff says

Deputies found a 50-year-old male probationer deceased in the 1800 block of North Cecil Road after responding to a reported overdose, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said. The preliminary cause of death is a suspected drug overdose, the release said, and the case spurred follow-up compliance checks at two nearby transitional homes.

KCSO said deputies responded to the overdose on Feb. 22 at the transitional residence in the 1800 block of North Cecil Road, where the 50-year-old male probationer was found deceased. The sheriff’s office described the cause of death as preliminary and suspected to be a drug overdose; no coroner’s ruling or toxicology results have been released.

Detectives with the KCSO Special Investigations Unit conducted compliance checks on Feb. 26 at that address and at a second transitional home in the 1700 block of North Cecil Road. The sheriff’s office said officers from the Coeur d’Alene Police Community Action Team and agents with Idaho State Probation and Parole participated in the checks.

During the compliance checks, investigators recovered methamphetamine, fentanyl and drug paraphernalia, the KCSO release said. Several probationers at the residences tested positive for the presence of illegal substances, the release added; sources did not provide an exact number of positive tests or laboratory-confirmed quantities of drugs seized.

Those arrested were Robert F. Mills, 48, possession of methamphetamine, possession of fentanyl, and probation violation; Christopher A. Kemper, 42, probation violation; Isaac Gonzalez, 39, failure to appear (original charge: possession of stolen property); Jorge A. Cozar, 25, probation violation; and Sannon A. Moore, 28, probation violation, the sheriff’s office reported. The arrests followed the Feb. 26 compliance activity; booking details, bond amounts and court dates were not released.

KCSO said the investigation into the overdose and the conditions at the transitional homes remains active. Investigators have not released the identity of the deceased, and the sheriff’s office did not link the five arrested individuals to the death in its initial release. No medical examiner confirmation of cause of death or additional charges have been announced.

Local law enforcement and probation officials are continuing the probe into the Feb. 22 death and the Feb. 26 compliance checks; Kootenai County authorities say they will provide updated findings, including any coroner’s report or additional charges, as they become available.