Man charged after allegedly violating no-contact order 317 times from jail - East Idaho News
Crime Watch

Man charged after allegedly violating no-contact order 317 times from jail

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IDAHO FALLS – A man who is in jail on a charge of attempted strangulation has new charges related to hundreds of violations of a no-contact order — all of which investigators say took place from jail.

Justin Wayne Gould, 28, was charged with felony intimidation of a witness and eight misdemeanor counts of violation of a domestic violence no-contact order after police discovered that he had allegedly violated the order 317 times.

Due to the “logistics at the jail,” they were only able to book Gould for eight counts of a no-contact order violation, according to court documents.

Gould was initially charged with felony attempted strangulation on July 2 after he reportedly attacked a woman at a park in Idaho Falls.

RELATED | Man accused of strangling a woman appears in court

He appeared in court on July 19, where he and the victim argued that the no-contact order be modified or dismissed. Because of multiple other pending charges, Judge Michelle Mallard denied the request.

Idaho Falls Police was contacted by a Bonneville County Sheriff’s deputy on July 21, after finding that Gould had been violating his no-contact order that went into place on July 5.

According to court documents, Gould “appeared upset” after Mallard did not grant his request to dismiss the no-contact order, and called and spoke with the victim three times after court.

Gould “has been making phone calls to (the victim) and violating the NCO (no-contact order) a total of 317 times,” according to an Idaho Falls Police report.

Two hundred and two of the calls were reportedly from Gould’s inmate account, and 115 of the calls came from another inmate’s account.

According to court documents, Only 125 of the calls to the victim were completed, and the rest came back with no answer.

On July 21, Idaho Falls Police spoke to the victim, and she confirmed that Gould has been calling her from jail. She told police that Gould is “blaming her for what happened and that she is not doing anything to help him.”

According to the police report, the victim said that Gould is “blaming this all on her, that it’s her fault that she called the police.” She told police that she told Gould that he was the one that was “trying to kill her and to call the cops because he couldn’t stop himself.”

According to police, Gould would call the victim and “talk in third person, thinking this would make it so the jail would not know they were talking back and forth.” Gould allegedly told the victim, “Don’t dig my hole any deeper” and to tell the judge that he was “off his meds, or high as f***, drunk.”

Investigators say Gould also told the victim, “If you loved me and wanted me out, you wouldn’t be telling people that s*** and that (I) didn’t do that.”

Though Gould has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

Gould appeared in court for the new charges on July 26. His bond was kept at $50,000, and a preliminary hearing was set for Aug. 9.

If convicted, Gould could face up to 13 years in jail for felony witness intimidation and the NCO violations.

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