‘Extreme Makeover’ home recipient to stand trial

SANDPOINT – The recipient of a televised home-makeover project that thrust him into the national spotlight last month is scheduled to stand trial this month on a series of misdemeanor charges.

Eric James Hebert faces charges of driving under the influence, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, possessing an open container of alcohol while driving, and failing to register his vehicle. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and hired an attorney.

The charges stem from an Oct. 28 traffic stop, when police pulled Hebert over for having a loud muffler on his pickup truck. Hebert, 33, is scheduled for trial in 1st District Court on Feb. 23.

A few weeks after his arrest, the ABC TV Program “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” arrived, surprising Hebert, who said he thought his arrest had wrecked any chance he had of getting the makeover.

“When (the arrest) happened, I figured I blew the whole thing,” Hebert told the Bonner County Daily Bee, adding that ABC was aware of his arrest. “I figured I’d lost what could have been a wonderful thing and I never felt lower in my life.”

Apparently outweighing his arrest were Hebert’s efforts to take parental duties for his niece and nephew, 8-year-old twins Keeley and Kyler. Their mother – his sister, Francine Hebert – died in 2004 of a heart attack at age 37.

Hebert moved from Montana to North Idaho to care for the children. He moved them into a “berm house,” described as a daylight basement with a roof.

In the “Extreme Makeover” program, the berm house was demolished in November and replaced in a week with a large, two-story house. The program aired nationally Jan. 22.

Hebert said he has learned a lot from both his arrest and the makeover project.

“I hate to use the cliche that I’m only human, but it was just one of those things that happened and it happened for a reason,” Hebert said.