Shootout counts increase

COEUR d'ALENE - A Kootenai County grand jury on Tuesday charged Marcus Rael with 12 counts of assault with the intent to commit a serious felony.

Rael, 24, is accused of starting a gunbattle with police on Interstate 90 in June. The Glendale, Ariz., native allegedly refused to stop when Coeur d'Alene police officers attempted to pull him over on suspicion that he was driving under the influence.

The subsequent pursuit ended in Post Falls, when Rael allegedly crashed his Nissan Titan truck near a police roadblock. According to Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler, whose office is investigating the incident, Rael took up a position between his truck and a barrier on the interstate and began firing two assault weapons at responding officers.

In the ensuing gunbattle, six Coeur d'Alene police officers, three Post Falls police officers, two Kootenai County Sheriff's deputies and an Idaho State Police trooper exchanged gunfire with Rael.

No officers were injured in the shootout. Rael was shot and injured.

Rael's arraignment and subsequent jury trial have not been scheduled. He is being held on a $4 million bond at the Kootenai County Public Safety Building.