Man found dead by students a sex offender facing felonies

October 23, 2023

A 52-year-old Naples man found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound by four Bonners Ferry High School students October 16 in woods just south of Safeway was a non-compliant sex offender facing felony and misdemeanor drug charges set to be sentenced October 18. On May 25, Boundary County Sheriff's Deputies Michael Valenzuela and David Wion and Bonners Ferry Police Sergeant Willie Cowell responded to a 7:37 p.m. call of a disorderly and highly intoxicated male at a residence on Tower Road in Naples.

They found John J. Belile II, armed with a knife, yelling and screaming.

He complied with orders to get down on the ground, but continued screaming at several other people on the property, including the property owners, who told investigators that Belile had been living on the property for the last four years, that Belile's drinking had become more heavy of late and that they suspected he was using methamphetamine. They also said he owned two firearms, neither working.

It was later determined that a pouch taken from Belile contained several pipes and what tested positive for methamphetamine. A background check revealed Belile had served a prison sentence in Michigan on a July 5, 1990, charge of first degree criminal sexual conduct with a weapon used.

He was taken into custody on felony charges of possession of a controlled substance and failure to register as a sex offender and a misdemeanor charge of possession of paraphernalia and jailed. He entered a guilty plea in July and was released following a bond reduction hearing August 11.

Instead of being sentenced last Wednesday, charges were dismissed and the case closed.