Man shot by Fruitland Police in December arrested for felony DUI in Boise Thursday

Published: June 14, 2012 

Jamee Lee Wade

While prosecutors have yet to charge Jamee Lee Wade in connection with an incident in December when he was shot by a Fruitland Police officer, Wade is now being held in the Ada County Jail on his second felony DUI arrest in Ada County since February.

Boise police arrested the 38-year-old Wade after investigating a report of a possible drunk driver near Fort and 14th streets late Wednesday. A police officer saw Wade drive through a red light at 13th and Fort streets before pulling him over. Police detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from Wade and say he failed several field sobriety tests before being taken to the jail, where he took a breath test and registered a .23 blood alcohol content percentage, according to police reports.

The legal bac limit in Idaho is .08. Any bac over .20 is charged as an excessive DUI. When Boise police arrested Wade on a DUI on Feb. 10, his bac was .24, according to reports. Wade eventually pleaded guilty to a felony DUI for the February arrest and is scheduled to be sentenced for that on June 26.

The crime of felony DUI is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Wade has a lengthy misdemeanor criminal history in Idaho, including the officer-involved shooting, three DUIs, and several traffic infractions, according to court records.

Fruitland Police Chief J.D. Huff told the Idaho Statesman in December that Wade would be charged with a crime in connection with a Dec. 23 incident when he was shot by an officer investigating a domestic disturbance call by Wade’s mother’s house.

Wade was badly injured in the shooting and was listed in critical condition in the days following but has since recovered.

The Idaho State Police, who headed the task force investigating the shooting, completed their investigation in February, Payette County Prosecutor Ann Marie Kelso said. Canyon County Prosecutor Bryan Taylor said Thursday his attorneys, who are reviewing that report for Payette County, are still working on the case.

Not much information has been released about what happened during the confrontation. Police aren’t saying whether Wade was armed, where the shooting occurred or how many times Wade was shot.

Police do say the Fruitland officer was sent to a home on Northwest 2nd Avenue just after 8 p.m. Dec. 23 after getting a 911 phone call from someone who said Wade was threatening to kill her. Huff said that the caller was Wade’s mother.

The officer who shot Wade, Bill Copeland, had been with the Fruitland Police Department for eight months and worked as a Weiser police officer before that. Huff said initial information indicates Copeland followed department policy during the confrontation.

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