Deputy injured, man jailed after Post Falls standoff

COEUR d’ALENE — A man is being held on $250,000 bail after a standoff with police culminated in his arrest Thursday.

Emanuel V. Zavala, 42, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault upon certain personnel and with eluding, all felonies. He also faces charges of failing to update his address as a sex offender. 

The charges stem from Thursday afternoon, when police attempted to stop Zavala in a gas station parking lot in Post Falls. Zavala was wanted on multiple bench warrants related to his sex offender status. 

“As one of the detectives got out of their vehicle to contact him, Zavala drove toward the detective, striking the detective and his vehicle,” the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. “The detective was able to lunge out of the way, avoiding serious injury.” 

Police pursued Zavala to a nearby residence and a standoff ensued. Multiple agencies responded to the scene, including the sheriff’s office, Post Falls police, Idaho State Police troopers and the joint agency SWAT team. 

Zavala later exited the residence and surrendered. 

The detective who was allegedly hit by Zavala was transported to Kootenai Health and cleared with minor injuries to his leg, according to the sheriff’s office. 

Zavala was convicted of “lewd or lascivious act with a child under 14” in California in 2004, according to court records, an offense equivalent to lewd conduct with a child under the age of 16 in Idaho. As such, he was required to register as a sex offender in Idaho. 

Court records show Zavala was charged with two counts of providing false information to the sex offender registry, both felonies, after he failed to inform his probation officer about changes to his address and employment. He also faced a habitual offender enhancement. 

Prosecutors later agreed to dismiss one of the charges and the enhancement in exchange for Zavala’s guilty plea on the remaining charge. 

Zavala received a sentence of seven years in prison with parole eligibility after three years, but in accordance with the plea deal, the court retained jurisdiction in the case. As a result, Zavala spent a year in a jail treatment program, called a rider, before the court placed him on supervised probation. 

In June, Zavala’s probation officer reported Zavala had failed to show up for scheduled appointments and had moved out of his approved housing without updating his address. 

A bench warrant for Zavala’s arrest was issued July 9. 

First District Judge Destry Randles ordered Friday that Zavala be held on $250,000 bail.