Chase ends in suicide

COEUR d'ALENE - A Dalton Gardens man who was arrested in November for allegedly throwing gasoline on his wife and threatening to light her on fire killed himself late Saturday following a lengthy police chase.

Daniel J. Zehm, 52, was fleeing police when the front tires of his vehicle were flattened by spike strips near Fernan Village.

As Zehm went under the Interstate 90 overpass, "he suddenly stopped and fatally shot himself," according to a press release from the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department.

The chase began around 11 p.m. when a relative of Zehm's reported that he had his wife, Sondra Zehm, and a gun in the Fernan area and was headed toward Kellogg.

Zehm's wife had filed a no-contact order against him.

Sheriff's deputies and Idaho State Police officers began looking for Zehm, with deputies finding his van on Fernan Lake Road near the Fernan Gun Range.

Deputies followed Zehm as he drove up the hill toward Fernan Saddle, finally catching up to him near the saddle. As they tried to stop him, Zehm fled westbound back toward Coeur d'Alene.

At one point during the pursuit, Sondra Zehm escaped by jumping out of the moving vehicle, and was not hurt, police reported.

Following Zehm's arrest for threatening his wife in November, Kootenai County prosecutors charged him with battery with intent to commit a serious felony. He was also charged with burglary, for entering his own home with the intent of committing a felony.

Zehm, who had no prior criminal history, posted $200,000 bail bond and was freed.

Because KCSD, ISP and Coeur d'Alene were involved in the chase, the Spokane County Sheriff's Office will be the lead investigator.