POCATELLO — The owner and director of Downard Funeral Home has been arrested and faces 63 misdemeanor charges for violating the Idaho Mortician’s Code of Conduct, according to a news release from the Bannock County Prosecutor’s Office and Pocatello Police Department.

Lance Peck, 47, was arrested around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday as he was arriving at his Pocatello home, according to police. He was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Bannock County Jail in Pocatello.

The 63 charges filed against Peck on Tuesday were driven by Idaho’s statute of limitations, which requires misdemeanor charges be filed within one year after the date of the offense. Authorities said they began investigating Peck on Sept. 1, 2021.

The misdemeanors Peck was charged with include 59 counts of violation of Mortician’s Code of Conduct, three counts of petit theft and one count of violation of records regarding cremations, the news release said.

If convicted of all the charges against him, Peck faces a maximum penalty of over 30 years in jail.

The results of the investigation, which is still ongoing, were delivered to the Bannock County Prosecutor’s Office in mid-June 2022. Two prosecutors have been assigned to review the findings of the investigation, which is comprised of approximately 4,500 pages.

The investigation touches upon a number of Idaho statutes, including vital statistics, anatomical donations and the conduct of morticians.

Authorities emphasized on Tuesday that more serious felony charges will be filed against Peck as their investigation continues.

The misdemeanor charges against Peck mark the first dominoes to fall in the criminal investigation into his activities at Downard Funeral Home, 241 N. Garfield Ave.

The investigation first began when officials with the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, which oversees the state’s Board of Morticians, visited Downard on Sept. 1, 2021, observed conditions that were in violation of the board’s laws and rules, and contacted the Pocatello Police Department to report their findings.

The Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses had received several complaints about Peck and Downard before visiting the funeral home.

Peck surrendered his license to operate Downard on Sept. 1, 2021, and on Sept. 3, 2021, police executed a search warrant at the funeral home as well as the crematory located in the same building.

As a result of the search warrant, Pocatello police located 12 bodies in various stages of decomposition, approximately 50 fetuses in jars and dozens of unidentified cremated remains. Police also confiscated thousands of digital and paper records from Downard.

Police were eventually able to positively identify the 12 bodies and determine the fetuses were part of a biological science collection donated from the University of Utah to Idaho State University and then to Downard for destruction. But they were never destroyed, police said.

On Tuesday, authorities elaborated that their investigation grew to include 88 deceased individuals whose bodies were in some way handled by Peck.

“In all my years, I have never seen a case so disturbing as this one,” said Pocatello Police Chief Roger Schei. “Our hearts go out to the family members affected by this tragic event, to the community, and to all the officers involved.”

In addition to the 63 misdemeanor charges, the Bannock County Prosecutor’s Office expects felony charges to be filed against Peck in the future. Felonies, which have a longer statute of limitations, are each punishable by incarceration of more than one year in prison, whereas misdemeanors are each punishable by no more than one year incarceration.

“This is likely one of the most complex investigations ever conducted in Bannock County and involves unique areas of law and a great number of people who have been impacted by this event,” Bannock County Prosecutor Steve Herzog said. “I ask for your collective patience as this process moves forward and your continued compassion and respect for those impacted. Our hearts are with the families at this time.”

The Pocatello Police Department and Bannock County Prosecutor’s Office expressed gratitude to all the agencies who assisted or are still assisting in the investigation. The Pocatello Police Department has served as the lead investigating agency with assistance from various other state and local agencies.

Family members of deceased persons who have questions or would like an update on the status of the case are encouraged to provide their contact information using the following link: forms.gle/dev9c4BL7ZfGhP2u5.

Anyone with questions or in need of assistance in accessing the form on the provided link is encouraged to contact investigators at 208-234-6121. Only family members who have had previous contact with Pocatello police investigators will be provided information concerning the investigation, the news release said.

Peck is scheduled to appear in front of a 6th District magistrate judge for an initial arraignment hearing on Wednesday at the Bannock County Courthouse.