State v. Pethtel

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Docket Nos. 51747/51748 STATE OF IDAHO, ) ) Filed: March 17, 2026 Plaintiff-Respondent, ) ) Melanie Gagnepain, Clerk v. ) ) THIS IS AN UNPUBLISHED TEL WILLIAM PETHTEL, ) OPINION AND SHALL NOT ) BE CITED AS AUTHORITY Defendant-Appellant. ) ) Appeal from the District Court of the Seventh Judicial District, State of Idaho, Lemhi County. Hon. Stevan H. Thompson, District Judge.

Judgment of conviction and concurrent terms of five years with two years determinate on each of two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, consecutive term of ten years with three years determinate for destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence, and unified term of fifteen years with ten years determinate for voluntary manslaughter, to run consecutive to the unlawful possession of a firearm sentences, but concurrent with the destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence sentence, affirmed.

Erik R. Lehtinen, State Appellate Public Defender; Brian R. Dickson, Deputy Appellate Public Defender, Boise, for appellant.

Hon. Raúl R. Labrador, Attorney General; Kacey L. Jones, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for respondent. ________________________________________________ Before GRATTON, Judge; HUSKEY, Judge; and LORELLO, Judge ________________________________________________ PER CURIAM In these consolidated appeals, Tel William Pethtel was found guilty of destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence, Idaho Code § 18-2603; and Pethtel pled guilty to two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, I.C. § 18-3316(1) and a persistent violator enhancement, I.C. § 19-2514 (Docket No. 51747). A jury also found Pethtel guilty of voluntary manslaughter, I.C. § 18-4006(1) (Docket No. 51848). In Docket No. 51747, the district court sentenced Pethtel to concurrent terms of five years with two years determinate for each count of unlawful possession of a firearm, and a consecutive term of ten years with three years determinate for destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence. In Docket No. 51848, the district court sentenced Pethtel to a unified term of fifteen years with ten years determinate for voluntary manslaughter, to run consecutive to the unlawful possession of a firearm sentences, but concurrent with the destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence sentence. Pethtel appeals, contending that his sentences are excessive, particularly in the aggregate.

Sentencing is a matter for the trial court’s discretion. Both our standard of review and the factors to be considered in evaluating the reasonableness of the sentence are well established and need not be repeated here. See State v. Hernandez, 121 Idaho 114, 117-18, 822 P.2d 1011, 1014- (Ct. App. 1991); State v. Lopez, 106 Idaho 447, 449-51, 680 P.2d 869, 871-73 (Ct. App. 1984); State v. Toohill, 103 Idaho 565, 568, 650 P.2d 707, 710 (Ct. App. 1982). When reviewing the length of a sentence, we consider the defendant’s entire sentence. State v. Oliver, 144 Idaho 722, 726, 170 P.3d 387, 391 (2007). Our role is limited to determining whether reasonable minds could reach the same conclusion as the district court. State v. Biggs, 168 Idaho 112, 116, 480 P.3d 150, 154 (Ct. App. 2020).

Applying these standards, and having reviewed the records in these cases, we cannot say that the district court abused its discretion. Therefore, Pethtel’s judgments of conviction and sentences are affirmed.