POCATELLO — Felony charges have been filed against Lance Peck in connection to his operation of Downard Funeral Home where a dozen bodies in various stages of decomposition were found in September 2021.

The new charges were filed against Peck on Wednesday, according to a news release from Bannock County. The felony complaint alleges Peck, who owned the now defunct Downard Funeral Home on North Garfield Avenue, committed tax law violations, forgeries and grand theft, the news release said.

“We anticipate the felony complaint to be merged with the misdemeanor complaints filed last year, which would bring the entire case under the jurisdiction of a district judge,” said Bannock County Prosecutor Stephen Herzog.

This week’s filing of felony charges came after Peck’s Pocatello attorney, Richard Blok, and the prosecution entered into mediation in August. According to the Bannock County news release, Blok and Herzog have “made significant progress towards reaching a resolution of the case.”

“The parties intend to return to mediation in the near future with the hope of reaching a final resolution,” the news release states. “The details of what took place during mediation are confidential.”

Herzog said, “I want to thank the public, especially the families who have been impacted by the defendant’s actions, for your continued patience. We encourage people to continue communicating with our office. Your comments are valuable, and we will try to respond in a timely manner.”

The Prosecutor’s Office is inviting family members affected by the alleged actions of the defendant to submit their input on what they feel is a fair resolution to the case by emailing downardprosecution@bannockcounty.gov.

Though felony charges have now been filed against Peck, details about those charges remain unknown because the criminal complaint was ordered to remain sealed from the public until Peck is served with a summons to appear in court, which had apparently not yet happened as of Thursday evening, according to court records.

The felony charges are in addition to the 63 misdemeanor charges that were filed against Peck in 2022 stemming from a Pocatello police investigation that revealed he had allegedly mishandled the remains and cremated remains of dozens of people whose families trusted him to provide funeral and cremation services.

Peck was charged with 60 misdemeanor counts of unprofessional conduct by morticians, funeral directors or embalmers and three misdemeanor counts of petit theft in August 2022 after Pocatello police executed a search warrant in September 2021 at Downard Funeral Home, which led to the discovery of 12 bodies in various stages of decomposition, approximately 50 fetuses in jars and dozens of unidentified cremated remains.

Peck was originally scheduled to contest the 63 misdemeanor charges during a jury trial scheduled for Oct. 16 but that trial has since been vacated because of the additional felony charges being filed against him.

“Mr. Peck’s jury trial that was previously scheduled to begin on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023, will not take place due to the felony complaint that was filed (Wednesday),” Bannock County stated in a news release issued on Thursday.

In addition to the felony and misdemeanor criminal charges, Peck faces several civil lawsuits related to his handling of funeral and cremation services for local families. At least 15 families are currently suing Peck, according to court records.

Further, Peck recently filed a motion applying for a public defender. Typically, this means that Peck can no longer afford to pay for his representation and has applied for an attorney to be provided to him via the Bannock County Public Defender’s Office.

Peck has no currently scheduled court dates regarding the criminal charges he’s facing. However, once he is served with the felony criminal complaint he will make an initial court appearance followed by a preliminary hearing at the Bannock County Courthouse in Pocatello.

If convicted of all the current misdemeanor charges against him and the sentences are ordered to be served consecutively, Peck faces a maximum penalty of over 30 years in jail.

Any felony convictions would likely lengthen his time of incarceration.