Man allegedly used vehicle as weapon

POST FALLS — A 19-year-old Post Falls man was arrested Wednesday night after allegedly driving a vehicle into another with his ex-girlfriend inside head-on.

Jacob M. Warren was booked into the Kootenai County jail for aggravated assault, a felony. Warren also had an outstanding misdemeanor warrant for failing to appear for a phone harassment charge.

Kootenai County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to the 1700 block of East 16th Street in Post Falls for a two-vehicle injury crash around 9 p.m. However, both vehicles had been abandoned.

"When they arrived, they discovered a 2002 Subaru Impreza, with heavy front-end damage, abandoned off the north shoulder of E. 16th Street, and a 1988 Chevrolet Blazer, also with front-end damage, abandoned off the south shoulder of the roadway, stuck in a wooden fence," a KCSO press release states. "There was also vehicle debris and other evidence of a collision on the roadway."

A short time later, a 26-year-old Post Falls man and 19-year-old Post Falls woman, who is Warren's ex-girlfriend, approached the scene and advised they had been the occupants in the Subaru and had been deliberately rammed head-on by the Blazer, a KCSO report states. The victims were transported to Kootenai Health, where they were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

"The report states that the suspect drove around the victim’s vehicle, then turned around and headed for the victims," KCSO Lt. Stu Miller said. "The victim began backing up when he was struck."

An investigation led deputies to believe Warren had been driving the Blazer.

Supplemental information led deputies to a nearby residence in the 1400 block of East 16th Street as a possible location for Warren. As deputies approached the house, a pickup left and headed westbound on 16th.

Believing Warren to be in the vehicle, deputies stopped the pickup at the intersection of 15th and Henry. Warren was confirmed as a passenger and arrested without further incident.

Dustin H. Stuart, 21, Post Falls, who was another passenger in the pickup, was cited and released for possession of marijuana. Stuart is the owner of the Blazer that was involved in the crash.