Crime spree no laughing matter
POST FALLS - An Athol man arrested by Kootenai County Sheriff's deputies on Saturday morning was laughing, allegedly due to a combination of marijuana and alcohol, when confronted with six criminal charges.
"He giggled at me when I talked about marijuana and seemed to be in a happy-go-lucky mood about the situation," states a sheriff's office incident report of the encounter with Daniel Harrington.
KCSO deputies were alerted to the man after a woman contacted police Saturday at 9:55 a.m. The woman said she had pulled to the side of Burlington Road, near the entrance to Links Golf Course in Post Falls, in order to send a text message.
While she was looking at her phone, the woman said she heard somebody try to open her right rear passenger door. She looked up and saw "a tall, skinny white male with a green jacket and a beanie hat, trying to open her door," the deputies' report states.
The man, according to the report, tried unsuccessfully to open other doors to the car and allegedly told the woman he was looking for a ride.
During the incident, the report states, she noticed he was holding a gun in his right hand. The man allegedly continued to try to open her car doors and the woman told deputies that when he went for the driver's door she "got scared and drove away from the man."
She added that the man was holding a "bag of some sort" and walked north into the wooded area next to the gate of the golf course as she drove away.
The deputies, according to the report, then went with their weapons drawn to search for the man. Shortly after, one of the deputies observed a man matching the description walking around a large metal storage building on golf course property.
After being told his partner was en route to his location, the deputy reported, he pointed his rifle at the man and ordered him to come forward.
While walking toward the deputy, the man allegedly threw a black handgun and "acted confused," according to the report, "as to what I was yelling at him for."
The deputy handcuffed the man and when his backup arrived, he went to recover the gun, which was reportedly a black Springfield XD 9mm.
"As I was conducting a pat-down of the male's clothing, I could smell the odor of fresh marijuana emitting from his person," the report states. "I could also smell an overwhelming odor of alcoholic beverage emitting from his breath and person."
The deputy asked the man what his last name was and, according to the report, the handcuffed man said he didn't know. When the deputy informed him that the smell of marijuana was "emitting from his clothes" he allegedly giggled and said it "was a good night."
Deputies found a bag of marijuana on the man who, according to the report, was wearing several layers of jackets and shirts. They also searched the cloth lunch box the man was carrying and found 11 unopened beers and two magazines with 9mm bullets in them.
After he was transported to the Kootenai County jail, the man identified himself as Daniel Harrington. He was booked on felony charges of concealing evidence and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and five additional misdemeanor charges.