IDFG assists in arrest of attempted murder suspect

An idaho Fish and Game officer was directly involved in the capture Saturday of The attempted murder suspect William James in New Meadows.

Fish and Game conservation officer Randy Martinez was off duty and unloading construction materials at a friend’s house along Hwy 95 when gunshots rang out across the highway at the local feed store. Two county deputies took cover as James shot at them from a nearby shed.

Martinez grabbed a handgun from his vehicle, approached James and fired several rounds at the suspect causing James to flee. Martinez kept James in his sight, evacuated a neighboring house and set up a secure perimeter.

“Law enforcement officers from several agencies responded to assist including other Idaho Department of Fish and Game conservation officers,” Evin Oneale of Fish and Game said. “James was taken into custody without further incident.”

Martinez is a 17-year veteran of the Department of Fish and Game.

— Ralph Bartholdt