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) THIS IS AN UNPUBLISHED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

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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-
15 (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.

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