Man charged with false imprisonment

DALTON GARDENS — Police arrested a man who is accused of choking a woman and holding her against her will.

Mikael D. Spears, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, is charged with attempted strangulation and eluding, both felonies.

He is also charged with false imprisonment, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.

Kootenai County Sheriff’s deputies responded around 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 27 after a woman called 911.

She could be heard screaming at someone to stop touching her and let her out of a car before the call disconnected, according to court documents.

The woman called 911 again, this time telling dispatchers she was in the passenger seat of her car, with Spears driving. The pair were reportedly in a dating relationship.

Police spotted the car in a Dalton Gardens neighborhood. When a deputy ordered the driver to put the car in park, Spears allegedly took off instead, going more than 50 mph.

The woman was found walking nearby.

She told police she and Spears had argued while he was driving. When she tried to exit the car while it was stopped, she said Spears refused to unlock the door and continued to drive around, yelling at her.

Spears allegedly stopped the car again and the woman made another attempt to get out.

She said Spears grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the passenger-side door handle, then put both hands around her throat and choked her.

The woman told police she managed to unlock the door, at which point Spears pushed her out of the car and onto the ground before taking off.

Police obtained a warrant for Spears’s arrest and took him into custody Tuesday.

At the time of his arrest, Spears was reportedly wanted on a warrant for failing to appear in court for an unrelated DUI charge.

First District Judge James Combo ordered Wednesday that Spears be held on $50,000 bail.