Tanner Cox faces parole board, asks to be released from prison

Published at 8:26 am, May 2, 2017 | Updated at 11:24 am, May 2, 2017

Stephan Rockefeller, EastIdahoNews.com

Tanner Cox Feature Size — Tanner Cox | EastIdahoNews.com file photo

POCATELLO — A man convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of an Idaho Falls man will stay in prison for at least two and a half more years.

Tanner R. Cox, 24, appeared before a three-person parole commission Monday afternoon at the Pocatello Women’s Correction Center.

The commission gave Cox a parole date of Nov. 14, 2019, nearly doubling the minimum sentence 7th District Judge Bruce Pickett handed down to Cox.

If Cox stays out of trouble while in prison, he will have served four years, five months and 27 days by the time he is released. Bonneville County Prosecutor Danny Clark recommended Cox serve a 10-year prison sentence with four years fixed.

“We are pleased with the parole commission’s decision to deny parole at this time given the gravity of the offense, the loss of life and our stronger recommendations at the time of sentencing,” Clark told EastIdahoNews.com.

A jury found Cox guilty of involuntary manslaughter in Dec. 2015 after a five-day trial. He was originally charged with voluntary manslaughter in death of Josh Olzak.

During Cox’s parole hearing, Cox recounted what happened on the early morning hours of May 9, 2015.

Cox told parole commissioners he nearly T-boned a truck driven by Olzak and that someone in Olzak’s truck flipped him off and kept “blowing smoke,” which irritated Cox.

Cox told parole commissioners he followed the truck through the streets of Idaho Falls, describing it as a chase. Cox said he and Olzak stopped, exited their trucks, and Olzak swung at Cox, so Cox punched Olzak one time – knocking him down and causing his head to hit the pavement.

Cox describe his behavior that night as being “reckless” and told commissioners there was no excuse.

“All of this because someone flipped you off?” Commissioner David Moore asked Cox.

“Yes,” Cox replied.

“And someone is now dead?”

“Yes.”

Moore pressed Cox on his previous behaviors, referring to his multiple drug and alcohol related convictions and his reputation for fighting.

“I do not have a history of beating people up,” Cox told the parole commission. “I have a history of boxing with friends but not beating people up.”

“Did Olzak agree to box with you?” Moore asked.

“No,” Cox said.

Cox’s statement to the parole commission contradicts behaviors brought out at trial, during which prosecutors presented text messages sent by Cox 24 hours before the fight with Olzak in which he refers to another altercation:

“big a** fight, woopped some a**. i knock a dude out it was funny as s***. haha s*** was funny as f***, street was packed with people, guy swung at me, i ducted and knocked him out, ? :)”

While incarcerated, Cox and his then-girlfriend exchanged messages:

“No more trying to fight people, K?” his girlfriend texted.

“After this I’m done. I promise no more fighting, babe,” Cox wrote back.

During his parole hearing, Cox maintained he did not have a reputation for beating people up and when asked if he ever mentioned being able to knock people out with one punch, he told the commissioners he never said that.

“All of this over a flip off and diesel smoke?” Commissioner Mike Matthews asked.

“Yes,” Cox said.

“How ridiculous,” Matthews said, staring at Cox, shaking his head.

Cox then asked the commissioners to judge him based on who he is today, not who he was.

“I have been at a minimum security prison, and I have job that I work at in the Rexburg community,” Cox said. “I have been working in the community for a while with regular people and had no problems.”

Cox also wanted the parole commission to recognize that he hasn’t been in trouble while in prison, other than a minor write-up for being off his bunk at the wrong time. Cox told the commission he was ready to be released.

“Two and a half years is not very long for taking someones life,” Moore told Cox. “I have seen DUIs with longer sentences, and you’ve got two of those on your record.”

During the hearing, Cox’s mother, told the commission, “We stand by him 100 percent.”

Olzak’s wife also spoke.

“There is no amount of time that can make up for our loss,” Gabrielle Kirn-Olzak told commissioners. “All we have wanted from the beginning is for Tanner to take responsibility. Today, it still seems like he is passing the buck.”

Kirn-Olzak told the commission that they know other people were involved that night, and Cox still hasn’t named them. The passenger in Olzak’s truck, Josh Loveless, was attacked by multiple people during the confrontation between Olzak and Cox. Those attackers have not been named.

“We know there were others involved that beat up Mr. Loveless in the victim’s vehicle,” Clark told EastIdahoNews.com on Monday. “Those individuals were not identified. As for Mr. Olzak’s homicide, I do not believe that anyone else was involved. It was one punch and a fall to the pavement that killed Mr. Olzak and that was confirmed by the autopsy, although the concern is that there were multiple cars and multiple people there that did not come forward with information about this crime or the crime against Mr. Loveless.”

After the nearly hour-long hearing, the parole commission chose not to give Cox an immediate parole date. The three-person panel unanimously agreed that Cox should serve two and a half more years.

When Cox is released, the commission has banned him from living in District 7, which includes Bingham, Bonneville, Butte, Clark, Custer, Fremont, Jefferson, Lemhi, Madison and Teton counties, until his sentence satisfaction date of May 13, 2025.

Cox also is banned from being in personal relationships without his parole officer’s consent, cannot have contact with the victims and must stay free from drugs and alcohol, including those who use them.

Cox still owes around $29,000 in fines and restitution. Cox says he has paid $4,000 into fines. He was transported back the St. Anthony Work Camp on Monday afternoon.

CLARIFICATION: Tanner Cox’s mother’s name has been removed from this article at her request. As a former member of a law enforcement enforcement agency, she felt her identity being released might put Tanner Cox at risk in prison.

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