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Woman wounded when man opens fire on house in drive-by shooting
By Journal Staff 20 hrs ago


[Go to URL to view photo] Shots fired at Chubbuck house
Chubbuck police at the scene of a drive-by shooting on Monday in which a man opened fire on a house in the 500 block of Briarwood Street. A woman inside the home was wounded by the gunfire. Doug Lindley/Idaho State Journal

CHUBBUCK — A man opened fire on a house in a residential neighborhood here on Monday marking the second time within the last two weeks that Chubbuck was the scene of a brazen shooting.

A woman inside the home was wounded by the gunfire, while during the previous shooting a man was fatally shot outside a convenience store in broad daylight along one of Chubbuck’s busiest streets.

Monday’s incident occurred around 5:45 p.m. when an individual in a car opened fire on a house in the 500 block of Briarwood Street in what police are investigating as a drive-by shooting.

Police said the shooter fired about six rounds at the single-story modular home, which sits on the corner of Briarwood and Eagle Drive. The woman, whose name has not been released, was inside the house when she was wounded.

Other people were also inside the residence at the time and police said it’s fortunate no one else was hit by the gunfire.

The wounded woman was transported via Pocatello Fire Department ambulance to Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello where she was treated and released, police said.

Chubbuck police said witnesses reported that the shooter was in a newer white hatchback car with three other individuals. The vehicle was last seen heading east on Chubbuck Road in the area of the Bannock County fairgrounds.

The shooter is described as being a white male approximately 5 feet 7 inches in height with a thin build and short hair. He was wearing a black baseball hat and black clothing.

If you have any information about the shooting, please contact Chubbuck police immediately at 208-237-7172.

The public is being warned against approaching the shooter in any way.

“Do not attempt to take action on your own as the suspect is considered to be armed and dangerous,” Chubbuck police said via a press release.

This is the second shooting Chubbuck police have responded to within the past two weeks.

The earlier shooting occurred on the afternoon of Sept. 29 when police say Anthony Leinweber, 38, of Chubbuck, fatally shot Robert Phelps, also 38, of Chubbuck, in the head with a pistol during an argument outside the Jacksons convenience store on Yellowstone Avenue. Leinweber remained at the scene and surrendered to responding Chubbuck police officers.

He is being held at Bannock County Jail on a charge of second-degree murder for allegedly killing Phelps. Leinweber faces 10 years to life in prison if convicted.

Authorities said that Leinweber and Phelps were business associates who had a falling out.

Police have not yet provided any information as to why the shooter opened fire Monday on the house on Briarwood but they did say “all indications are that this was not a random shooting.”

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Bannock County designated as 'High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area'
By Kendra Evensen kevensen@journalnet.com Oct 8, 2017

[Go to the link to view the photograph] Sheriff Nielsen with Heroin paraphernalia
Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen holds drug paraphernalia and a sample of black tar heroin. Bannock County, along with 15 other counties across the nation, was recently designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Jordon Beesley/Idaho State Journal

Coroner Kim Quick says drug-related deaths occur frequently in Bannock County — there’s often more than one a month. He only deals with the fatal incidents, but he knows drugs are affecting people of all ages in the community.

He only deals with the fatal incidents, but he knows drugs are affecting people of all ages in the community.

“It’s a big problem,” he said.

Others seem to agree.

Bannock County, along with 15 other counties across the nation, was recently designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), according to a news release from the the U.S. Department of Justice. Other counties in California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia also made the list.

“Drug trafficking is a national problem that has to be addressed on the local level, and adding these counties to the HIDTA program is a critical part of this effort,” Richard Baum, acting director of National Drug Control Policy, said in the news release. “These new designations and the funding they will bring will help our Federal, state and local law enforcement officers work together to disrupt and dismantle the trafficking networks that are bringing drugs into our communities.”

Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen said the designation will help law enforcement agencies throughout East Idaho by providing more access to resources and more opportunities to coordinate efforts between local, state and federal agencies. He’s grateful for that additional support, but he’s also saddened that they need it.

He says meth used to be one of the biggest problems in the area, but then people started getting addicted to painkillers, and when restrictions were placed on those, heroin came on scene.

“In the last five years, heroin in Bannock County and East Idaho has hit us like a wildfire,” Nielsen said, adding that inmates have told him that they used to go to one dealer, but now they can get heroin from six or seven. “Big cities have had this for a long time. You hear of deaths and overdoses that come from this, and we’re seeing this now.”

And heroin isn’t the only problem.

Quick said people are using all kinds of prescription and illicit drugs. They are making combinations that can become fatal, and they’re crushing pills to get immediate effects from drugs that were meant to occur over a period of time.

Nielsen said his deputies have started carrying Narcan — which can help block the effects of opioids during a drug overdose, according to Wikipedia — and they’ve already had to use it four times this year to help save lives, including the life of a teen.

“(These can be) fatal,” Nielsen said. “You do not just wake up with a bad hangover.”

He hopes HIDTA will assist their ongoing efforts to fight drug trafficking, but says they also need to find ways to help those caught in the cycle of addiction.

“It wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t a clientele,” he said.

In the news release, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis said Idaho has a low crime rate overall, but drug violations reached a five-year high in 2016, increasing 15 percent over the previous year.

“The spike in drug crime is not happening in every neighborhood or city. But the trend is real and should concern us all. It must not continue,” he said in the news release.

Davis also applauded efforts that local elected leaders and law enforcement agencies have already made to help combat the problem, including the formation of the Eastern Idaho Partnership.

“The Partnership funds a Special Assistant United States Attorney, whose mission is to combat drug and violent crime in eastern Idaho,” Davis said in the news release.

While Bannock County is a newly designated HIDTA, it’s not the only one in Idaho. Ada and Canyon counties are also part of the Oregon/Idaho HIDTA, according to the news release.

quote:

Originally posted by toms:
"The shooter is described as being a white male approximately 5 feet 7 inches in height with a thin build and short hair. He was wearing a black baseball hat and black clothing."

How do you estimate the height of an individual when they are sitting in a car? Pants were black too?

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Police still searching for suspect in Chubbuck drive-by shooting
By Shelbie Harris sharris@journalnet.com

[Go to link to view photo] Shots fired at Chubbuck house
Chubbuck police at the scene of a drive-by shooting on Monday in which a man opened fire on a house in the 500 block of Briarwood Street. A woman inside the home was wounded by the gunfire.
Doug Lindley/Idaho State Journal

CHUBBUCK — Authorities confirmed Wednesday that police are still searching for a male suspect who opened fire on a house in a residential Chubbuck neighborhood Monday night.

At approximately 5:45 p.m. Monday an individual in a car fired six rounds at a single-story home in the 500 block of Briarwood Street in what police are investigating as an apparent drive-by shooting.

A woman, apparently the daughter of the homeowner, was wounded by the gunfire and was transported via Pocatello Fire Department ambulance to Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello where she was treated and released, police said.

Other people were also inside the residence at the time but were not struck by the gunfire.

Chubbuck police said witnesses reported that the shooter was in a newer “boxy” white hatchback car with three other individuals. The vehicle was last seen heading east on Chubbuck Road in the area of the Bannock County fairgrounds.

Police initially said the house struck by gunfire sits on the corner of Briarwood Street and Eagle Drive, however, the house actually sits on the corner of Briarwood Street and Whitaker Road.

The shooter is described as being a white male approximately 5 feet, 7 inches in height with a thin build and short hair. He was wearing a black baseball hat and black clothing.

If you have any information about the shooting, please contact Chubbuck police immediately at 208-237-7172.

The public is being warned against approaching the shooter in any way.

“Do not attempt to take action on your own as the suspect is considered to be armed and dangerous,” Chubbuck police said via a press release.

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Police: Suspect in Chubbuck shooting arrested
By Shelbie Harris sharris@journalnet.com Oct 12, 2017 Updated 15 hrs ago

[Go to link to view photo of the shooter] Tyler Baldwin
Photo courtesy of Bonneville County Sheriff's Office

CHUBBUCK — Police said an Idaho Falls man who was arrested after leading police on a high-speed chase in Bonneville County is also a suspect in a shooting in Chubbuck that left one person injured.

Chubbuck police officials confirmed that 24-year-old Tyler J. Baldwin has been identified as a suspect in the shooting that occurred at a single-story home in the 500 block of Briarwood Street Monday evening.

Baldwin was taken into custody early Thursday morning after a high-speed vehicle pursuit in Bonneville County.

The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office said authorities spotted Baldwin driving a vehicle on South Falcon Drive in Ammon around midnight. When they attempted to initiate a traffic stop, police said Baldwin fled at high speeds through residential neighborhoods.

The chase ended after Baldwin's vehicle collided with an embankment near the Walmart in Ammon.

When he was being taken into custody, police said Baldwin was found to be in possession of methamphetamine and other controlled substances.

Baldwin has been booked into the Bonneville County jail. He has been charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, felony counts of eluding and possession of a controlled substance. He also had two outstanding warrants.

Baldwin was also charged with felony possession of contraband in a correctional facility after officers said they found what they suspected to be cocaine while he was being booked into jail.

Though Baldwin has not been charged in relation to the Chubbuck shooting, authorities said Thursday they are anticipating that criminal charges will be filed soon in Bannock County.

“There is still a lot work to be done on this case, it is still active and ongoing,” Chubbuck police said in a written statement. “Since this shooting occurred, members of the Chubbuck Police Department have been working around the clock in an effort to identify the suspect, and get him into custody.”

The shooting occurred at approximately 5:45 p.m. Monday when a male suspect fired approximately six rounds at a home on Briarwood Street. A woman, whose identity has not been released, was wounded by the gunfire.

The victim was transported via Pocatello Fire Department ambulance to Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello, where she was treated and released, police said.

Chubbuck police said witnesses at the scene reported that the shooter fled the scene in a newer white hatchback car with three other individuals. However, police on Thursday did not comment on these three people.

After Baldwin was taken into custody on Thursday, Bonneville County sheriff’s detectives, detectives from the Chubbuck Police Department and SWAT team members served a search warrant at a residence on Greenfield Drive in Ammon. Police said it was believed that Baldwin had former associations at the home.

According to authorities, the warrant was served in conjunction with the Chubbuck Police Department’s investigation into the shooting on Briarwood Street.

Police said none of the occupants in the Greenfield Drive residence were arrested or taken into custody, though one woman who has not been identified was temporarily detained at the scene while authorities collected evidence.

Sgt. Bryan Lovell of the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office could not confirm if a firearm was located during the execution of the search warrant.

Lovell said the vehicle involved in the chase on Thursday was not the white hatchback spotted at the shooting scene on Monday. However, he did say Chubbuck police did locate and complete its investigation into the white hatchback vehicle, but did not elaborate further.

When suspects commit crimes throughout Southeast Idaho, Lovell said they sometimes flee to surrounding cities, counties and states. He added that working with neighboring police agencies is a necessary dynamic to fighting crime in the region.

“It’s good that we have a good working relationship with other law enforcement partners up and down eastern Idaho, and even around the state, because we’re able to be efficient and get a lot accomplished,” Lovell said. “That should be a deterrent for criminals to come here and they can’t run up and down the valley and commit crimes because we all work together in this part of the state.”