PA Bill Number: HB335
Title: In inchoate crimes, further providing for prohibited offensive weapons.
Description: In inchoate crimes, further providing for prohibited offensive weapons. ...
Last Action: Removed from table
Last Action Date: May 1, 2024
Sheriff advises citizens to be prepared to protect themselves :: 11/17/2015
Following two robberies in eastern Idaho by armed intruders who opened fire on homeowners, Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen said that if citizens know how to use a firearm, they should own one.
Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen.
“As the sheriff, I would like to be able to say that we can protect everyone, but I can’t say that,” Nielsen said. “Regardless of where I lived, I would have a weapon in my home to protect my family.”
Nielsen said officers come in contact with armed suspects frequently, and the number of violent crimes are on the rise, even in rural areas.
“We are seeing depressed, angry, frustrated people that are willing to use force to get what they want,” Nielsen said.
Idaho Falls police are investigating an attempted burglary at a residence on Pescadero Place on Thursday morning. The would-be burglary was surprised to find the resident at home, and he fired a gun before fleeing on foot.
The home’s occupant was not injured, and residents were relocated to a temporary shelter at Longfellow Elementary School for about an hour as officers scoured the area looking for the suspect.
The suspect remains at large, and anyone with information regarding the burglary is urged to contact the Idaho Falls Police Department at 529-1200 or Crimestoppers at 522-1983.
Substance abuse and mental illness also contribute to the upsurge in violent crime, and Nielsen said law-abiding citizens want to be able to protect themselves.
In 2012, there were 85,535 concealed weapons permit holders in Idaho.
The number of concealed weapons permits issued in Bannock County has steadily increased during the past five years.
The state offers two concealed weapons licenses, and Nielsen said most citizens in Bannock County are opting for Idaho’s standard permit, which is basically a rigorous background check.
Idaho’s enhanced concealed weapons permit is recognized in 35 states, but it also requires firing 100 rounds on the gun range and classroom time with a portion of the course being dedicated to the use of deadly force.
In 2013, Nevada, New Mexico and South Carolina, only honored the enhanced Idaho Concealed Weapons License and did not recognize the standard permit, according to the Idaho Attorney General’s office.
The Gem state adheres to the “Castle Law,” meaning your home is your castle and you can defend it if you believe that your life or the lives of your family are in imminent danger.
“You can defend yourself, but if you take a human life, there will be consequences, and there will be an investigation,” Nielsen said.
Nielsen said gun owners are also responsible for safe storage of weapons in the home.
Thursday’s robbery was the second time in less than a month that an armed suspect opened fired on a homeowner in the course of a botched burglary.
One man is in custody in Soda Springs, and a second is still on the run following a similar incident in that city last month.
Jeremy Michael Ashley, 32, was arrested in Colorado last month in connection to a robbery in Soda Springs on Oct. 20. He is charged with aiding in robbery, aiding in attempted murder, aiding in auto theft and unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.
Ashley was attempting to flee from another theft in Colorado when he was arrested for the outstanding Soda Springs warrants.
Soda Springs Police Chief Jon Bunderson said a resident in that city interrupted a burglary in progress, and the intruder shot at him with a handgun and then fled the scene.
The homeowner sustained minor injuries during a scuffle with the armed suspect, but he was not shot.
The suspect then allegedly stole a vehicle from a residence across the street and made his getaway.
Police located the suspect in the stolen car about 10 minutes later and pursued the vehicle until the suspect went off road and the officers were unable to continue the pursuit.
About two hours later, the stolen vehicle was found crashed and abandoned near Blackfoot River and North Trail roads where a second vehicle, a 2007 Dodge pickup with a fuel tank in the back, was stolen.
Ashley told investigators that he and another suspect planned to trade stolen firearms and vehicles for methamphetamine, which they planned to bring back to Idaho.
A preliminary hearing in the case is set for Wednesday, and Ashley remains incarcerated at the Caribou County Jail. A $50,000 bond was set in the case.
Ashley has previous weapons violations in Bear Lake County, and he was convicted of burglary in Bannock County in 2003. Other prior criminal charges against him include drug possession, contempt of court and grand theft.
The name of the second suspect has not been released.
Bunderson called the robbery a crime of opportunity, but he added that rural area are often targeted because most residents own guns, and the trusting communities tend to leave doors unlocked and keys in cars.
He urged residents to lock their doors and their vehicles and to leave a light on inside the house when they are out after dark.
