Sheriff reports road rage incidents

Over the holiday weekend and into the week, the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office responded to several incidents involving fireworks, firearms, assault and road rage.

A report of road rage in the early morning hours Wednesday led to an arrest of a 27-year-old man after he reportedly followed and rear-ended another vehicle with his own.

A man called dispatch shortly before 3 a.m. to report a vehicle following him, and said the vehicle had intentionally rear-ended him. The responding deputy quickly located both vehicles at the intersection of Highway 95 and Prairie Avenue in Hayden, where he observed the front bumper of a Volkswagen fall off in the intersection.

The driver of the Volkswagen was following a black SUV while flashing his lights and honking the horn. When the deputy turned on the emergency overhead lights of the patrol vehicle, the driver of the Volkswagen stuck his head out the window, pointing to the SUV and yelling. The driver of the SUV also stopped and told the deputy he had no idea who the driver of the Volkswagen was or why he was following him — he had simply been on his way home from work when the incident began.

This is what the driver of the Volkswagen reportedly told deputies: He was at home when he caught his fiancee cheating on him with another man and kicked them both out and locked the door. He later woke up to a man punching him in the head, then the man took off. He also reported he thought the man who punched him had stolen from him. When asked why he rammed the SUV in the intersection, he reportedly stated: "I didn't hit him there, I hit him in the neighborhood." The deputy's report states the man's story varied and he showed signs of methamphetamine use, though he allegedly told deputies he had not used the drug in four months.

He was arrested and booked into the Kootenai County jail for aggravated assault and malicious injury to property.

That was just one of the more recent incidents.

Another road rage incident led to an arrest for reckless driving and assault Sunday in the area of Hayden Avenue and Meyer Road in Post Falls.

A woman called dispatch to report a vehicle attempting to run her and her husband off the road on Hayden Avenue shortly after 10 p.m. The 36-year-old man driving the other vehicle had stopped in the middle of the roadway and, getting out of his vehicle, started hitting the victims' window. The couple reportedly told deputies the man had been traveling at a high rate of speed in a Dodge Challenger before stopping and blocking the roadway. He then came toward them "acting like an animal" and began banging on the window.

The driver of the Challenger reportedly told deputies the couple had blinded him with the high beams of their vehicle, so he stopped to ask the driver "what his problem was." He said the couple tried to run him over, so he began to follow them to call 911. According to the report, the deputy asked him if he thought it was reasonable to get out of his vehicle and approach the other vehicle, or if it would "typically intimidate or scare people," to which the man said he should not have gotten out of his vehicle. He also reportedly told the deputy he had not touched the window of the couple's vehicle.

Based on the information that the man was tailgating, speeding, running the couple off the road and stopped in the middle of the roadway, he was charged with reckless driving, as well as assault for pounding on the window and causing the couple to "fear for their safety."

Some other notable incidents include:

• A man was arrested last Friday by KCSO deputies for two counts of disturbing the peace after gunshots were reportedly heard from his residence in the area of South Alexanna Lane in Post Falls, shortly after midnight. A deputy first responded to the incident by telephone and the man said he was shooting at coyotes to protect his livestock. A neighbor reportedly told police it sounded like a "fully automatic AR-15" based on rapid succession of rounds fired.

Shortly before 4 a.m., deputies received a second call for a weapons offense at the same location and were informed that not only were several calls coming in through Kootenai County dispatch, but Spokane County dispatch had begun to receive calls as well. Deputies responded to the residence and as they approached, the sound of rapid-fire gunshots was reportedly apparent. After letting the man know deputies were near the house, they carefully approached and placed him under arrest. Deputies reportedly observed "no less than 100" spent cartridges of different calibers in the gravel around the trailer.

• A 54-year-old man was arrested Saturday afternoon for aggravated assault with a knife at the Panhandle Yacht Club in Harrison. Although the original reporting party, a woman claiming she was in a verbal argument with the man, said "they were fine" and attempted to cancel law enforcement response, another call came through dispatch by a witness who stated the man had a knife. Several people witnessed the incident and reported the man was threatening to kill people while brandishing the knife. Alcohol was reported to be a factor as well.

The threats allegedly did not stop once he was placed in the patrol car as deputies reported he "was extremely belligerent and threatened to 'kill' us multiple times." He also threatened to break the window of the patrol car, according to the report.

• On Sunday afternoon a Spokane Valley man was arrested in the area of East Rosenberry Drive in Coeur d'Alene for domestic battery in the presence of a child. A witness reported seeing the man get on top of a woman he was arguing with and physically take her phone, then the man allegedly threw the phone at the woman in a "baseball type throwing motion." The witness reportedly told KCSO deputies he physically separated the two because he was worried for the woman's safety. The victim reported the man was also throwing small rocks at her during the argument.

• Around 6:30 p.m. Sunday, several deputies were on foot patrol, standing at the intersection of North Marietta Road when a "large explosion" occurred in the brush on the north side of the street between two residences — about 10 feet from the deputies, according to the KCSO report.

Deputies reportedly identified one man who admitted to setting off a "sparkler bomb" with his friend, who he identified to deputies. The deputies attempted to locate the friend in a large group of people outside a bar by calling his name several times. There was no answer, so the reporting deputy walked to a nearby patrol car where he was able to view a photo of the 23-year-old man.

After returning to the area occupied by the large group, the deputy recognized the man from the photo. When asked why he did not identify himself the first time his name was called out, the man reportedly said he was scared. When asked why he didn't answer the second time his name was called, he said he had not heard the deputy call his name the second time, which "confused" the deputy because the man had previously corrected the deputy regarding his last name.

Due to the man "repeatedly and knowingly refusing to identify himself," he was placed under arrest for obstructing the investigation and transported to the Kootenai County jail.