Update on Post Falls shooting probe set

by KEITH KINNAIRD/Hagadone News Network
| July 15, 2014 9:00 PM

SANDPOINT - The Bonner County Sheriff's Office is holding a press conference Wednesday to provide an update on an officer-involved shooting in Post Falls on June 22.

It starts at 10 a.m. at the sheriff's office.

The incident began as an attempted traffic stop in Coeur d'Alene, but Marcus Anthony Rael, fled the scene in his pickup truck. Rael's flight from the stop touched off a multi-agency pursuit from Sherman Avenue to Interstate 90.

Rael, a 24-year-old from Glendale, Ariz., stopped on the Spokane Street on-ramp in Post Falls and allegedly opened fire on his pursuers.

At least 40 shots were fired during the half-hour-long standoff and gun battle, according to a Coeur d'Alene Press report. Rael was injured during the exchange of gunfire and was treated at Kootenai Health.

Rael was released to the custody of the Kootenai County jail earlier this month. He is charged with eluding law enforcement at the felony level.

Rael's bail is set at $1 million. A preliminary hearing to determine if he should be ordered to stand trial in 1st District Court in Kootenai County is set for July 24.

Officers from the Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls police departments, Kootenai County sheriff's deputies and an Idaho State Police trooper were involved in the incident.

The Critical Incident Task Force was activated for the investigation. Since four law-enforcement agencies were involved in the shooting, the Bonner County Sheriff's Office, also a task force member, is overseeing the investigation.

Rael's brother, Andrew, was shot and killed during a shoot-out with police that followed a chase on Interstate 10 in the Phoenix area in March, The Associated Press reported. Andrew Rael immediately exited his vehicle and opened fire on authorities with a semiautomatic rifle before being killed by Arizona Department of Public Safety officers.

Authorities in Arizona said Andrew Rael killed a tow truck operator and a convenience store employee prior to leading police on a chase that led to his death, according to the AP report.