POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI )—A District Judge will not accept a plea agreement with a former Pocatello funeral home owner charged with mishandling dead bodies.
Lance Peck was scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday, but was surprised by the judge’s decision.
Lance Peck is the former owner of the Downard Funeral Home. In 2021, police found dozens of decomposing bodies inside the funeral home, along with unmarked cremated remains.
This past June, Peck agreed to a plea agreement with prosecutors on a long list of charges, including grand theft and fraud.
On Thursday, Judge Javier Gabiola said he could not accept the plea agreement. He gave no reasoning as to why he wouldn’t accept the agreement.
A status hearing was set for Dec. 1, 2025, at 9:30 a.m.
In the plea agreement, Peck could have faced three to seven years in prison on each charge.
The funeral home has since been demolished, and the site serves as a parking lot for Pocatello High School.
Families who attended Thursday’s hearing were shocked at the decision.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
