Hearing set in ISP trooper shooting

COEUR d'ALENE - A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for a 24-year-old Butte man who was injured and his wife was shot and killed by an Idaho State Police trooper near Hayden.

Mark M. Maykopet faces felony charges of battery and eluding a police officer. During the hearing, Kootenai County prosecutors will present evidence to establish probable cause to proceed to trial in First District Court.

The hearing is scheduled for March 25 before Judge Robert Caldwell.

On Feb. 7, Cpl. Dan Howard fired the shots that killed 40-year-old Christie Little and injured Maykopet after the fugitives' Jeep rammed Howard's patrol car.

Howard stopped the couple on U.S. 95 and Ohio Match Road, because the vehicle was speeding.

Maykopet, known in Montana by the last name of Macy, had an outstanding fugitive from justice warrant from Montana when he was pulled over.

When Howard called in the stop, a dispatcher advised him Maykopet was considered "high risk."

After another trooper responded to assist, Maykopet drove away and the troopers pursued. The chase ended on Ramsey Road, south of Highway 53.

A police report said Howard's car became temporarily disabled at a railroad crossing while chasing Maykopet and by the time Howard restarted his car, Maykopet had turned around and rammed the patrol car.

Detectives found two guns in the Jeep driven by Maykopet, including a 9 mm automatic with an empty magazine, and a .25-caliber pistol with an eight-round magazine under the passenger seat. The chamber was not loaded, according to a police report.

Maykopet's record includes convictions for car theft, drugs and issuing bad checks. Little's record includes time spent in prison for theft, wire fraud and identity theft.

Detective Sgt. Brad Maskell of the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department is investigating Howard's actions.

- The Associated Press