Idaho

Bertollini sought after missing court
Judge issues warrant, delays racist's trial on DUI charges

Susan Drumheller
Staff writer

SANDPOINT _ Vincent Bertollini is a wanted man.

On Friday, 1st District Court Judge James Michaud issued a bench warrant for Bertollini's arrest.

He set bail at $250,000, or $25,000 cash.

Bertollini, a self-described evangelist who's best-known for his anti-Semitic mailings and support of Aryan Nations leader Richard Butler, was scheduled to go on trial next week on a felony drunken driving charge.

A pre-trial hearing was set for Friday, but Bertollini failed to show up.

It's the second hearing he failed to attend. In addition to issuing a bench warrant for Bertollini's arrest, Michaud also vacated the trial set for next week.

No one was at Friday's hearing to represent Bertollini, because Bertollini is representing himself.

He's believed to be out of town, recovering from eye surgery.

Bertollini filed a motion June 19 requesting a continuance of the trial until July 18. In his motion, he explained that he had "highly invasive eye surgery" in Washington state to correct a separated retina.

The surgery was unsuccessful, and so he needed further procedures by another eye specialist in yet another state, he said in his motion. Bertollini filed the motion while out of town, and stated he expected he would not be able to travel for four weeks.

Michaud denied the motion, stating it failed to provide any documentation supporting his reasons for a continuance.

So he offered Bertollini an opportunity to provide a statement from the surgeon or medical records during a hearing scheduled for June 27. Bertollini failed to appear at that hearing, and his motion was denied.

Deputy Prosecutor Roger Hanlon suggested at that hearing that Bertollini may be out of town, and the notice for the hearing could be sitting in his mailbox.

Now, the trial is postponed indefinitely and Bertollini likely will be arrested as soon as he returns to town.

The last time he was arrested was Jan. 12, after Sandpoint Police Officer Chris Bell followed him home. Bell reported that Bertollini nearly drove into the ditch and drove in the wrong lane while travelling home along residential streets.

Bell arrested Bertollini on a drunken driving charge. During the arrest, Bertollini slipped on his garage floor and fell, hitting his head on the side of the garage or the floor, according to Bell.

Bertollini has accused Bell of brutality, and distributed photos of himself cut and bruised on the Internet. He later filed a class-action lawsuit against the Sandpoint police and other law enforcement in Bonner County.

Because he has been convicted on DUI charges twice before, Bertollini now faces a possible felony conviction. The maximum punishment for a felony DUI is five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Bertollini is representing himself because he says he cannot find a lawyer willing to represent him. He turned down the court's offer of a court-appointed attorney.

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