COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho — Only five months after being sentenced to prison for attempting to strangle his now ex-girlfriend, District Judge Casey Simmons granted Christopher William Weede probation.
Court records show Weede, 38, was convicted of Attempted Strangulation following a jury trial last September and was sentenced to a 15-year prison sentence with parole eligibility after eight years by Senior District Judge Lansing Haynes on December 3, 2024.
However, Haynes retained jurisdiction of Weede, which allows the court to hold a review hearing at the end of one year where a judge can use their discretion to either uphold the original sentencing order or grant early release to serve out the remaining term on probation.
During the review hearing on April 23, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Donna Gardner recommended that Weede remain in prison for the remainder of his sentence.
The case against Weede stemmed from a domestic violence incident in which he “pushed and slapped his now ex-girlfriend” on February 19, 2024.
“As his ex-girlfriend was attempting to leave the residence, Weede pushed her to the floor and began to slap her again,” stated the Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office in a press release. “After pinning her arms down and putting his body weight heavily on her chest, Weede then began to strangle his ex-girlfriend after telling her that he was going to kill her.”
Weede was located and arrested, then released from jail on March 31, 2024, after posting bond. The court issued a no contact order preventing Weede from contacting his ex-girlfriend as a condition of his release.
According to the prosecutor’s office, Weede violated the no contact order on June 9, 2024, a misdemeanor offense which was prosecuted by the City of Coeur d’Alene. He was also charged with Battery, another misdemeanor offense, for touching his ex-girlfriend during the encounter.
On September 20, 2024, Weede was found guilty of Battery and No Contact Order Violation following a jury trial before his felony trial for Attempted Strangulation began.
Weede has a criminal history that includes convictions for violating a court order to prevent domestic violence (California), disturbing the peace (Idaho), DUI (Washington), and probation violations.
Simmons was appointed by Governor Brad Little at the end of September 2024 and has sat on the bench for less than nine months. Her legal career shows that she previously served as a deputy prosecutor in Kootenai County for six years and clerked for now retired District Judge John Mitchell.
