Press Release from Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office
Katie Louise Knowles, 47, was found guilty of felony DUI following a two-day jury trial in October 2025.
The charge stems from an incident on May 6, 2025, in which Knowles was called in as a possible intoxicated driver. After locating Knowles, officers conducted a traffic stop and investigated. Due to Knowles’ behavior during the traffic stop, the standardized field sobriety tests were not administered. Suspecting Knowles was under the influence of drugs—not alcohol—officers offered her a urine or blood test, but she refused.
After obtaining a search warrant, officers collected a sample of Knowles’ blood which later revealed that she had methamphetamine, among other drugs, in her system. Felony DUI is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Having previously been convicted of at least two prior felony offenses, Knowles was also convicted of being a Persistent Violator (sometimes called ‘habitual’ or ‘repeat offender’). This enhancement mandates that a prison sentence be no less than 5 years but allows a Court to extend a sentence by up to life. Knowles was sentenced on December 15, 2025, by District Judge Regina McCrea.
Knowles’ criminal history spans 25 years and includes convictions for possession of drug paraphernalia, frequenting a location where drugs are used or present, possession of controlled substances, and several probation violations. Knowles also has 6 prior convictions for DUI:
- Misdemeanor DUI in 2001 (Bonner County)
- Misdemeanor DUI in 2002 (Bonner County)
- Felony DUI in 2010 (Bonner County)
- Felony DUI in 2013 (Bonner County)
- Misdemeanor DUI in 2016 (Spokane County)
- Misdemeanor DUI in 2017 (Spokane County)
Knowles is also pending a DUI charge out of Spokane, Washington, from an April 2025 incident. (Knowles is innocent until proven guilty in that case).
At sentencing, Criminal Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Laura McClinton recommended a 15-year prison sentence with parole eligibility after 8 years.
District Judge Regina McCrea sentenced Knowles to a 10-year prison sentence with parole eligibility after 5 years, but suspended the sentence and placed Knowles on probation for 10 years. District Judge Regina McCrea also ordered a 4-year driver’s license suspension and that Knowles participate in substance abuse treatment as a condition of her probation. Knowles has been in custody since her arrest on May 6, 2025, and was ordered to remain in jail until her release into treatment on February 24, 2026.
Prosecuting Attorney Stanley T. Mortensen thanks the Idaho State Police for investigating the case and Laura McClinton for prosecuting the case.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), “[a]bout 32% of all traffic crash fatalities in the United States involve drunk drivers. In 2022, there were 13,524 people killed in these preventable crashes. In fact, on average over the 10-year period from 2013-2022, about 11,000 people died every year in drunk-driving crashes.”
