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Rambo faces attempted murder charge

Ralph Bartholdt Staff Writer | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 4 months AGO
by Ralph Bartholdt Staff Writer
| September 13, 2019 1:00 AM

Tyler Rambo, the 18-year-old who was shot by police July 4 in downtown Coeur d’Alene, is in the Kootenai County Jail facing charges of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated assault.

Rambo was arrested Thursday on a warrant after a Kootenai County judge determined there was enough evidence to issue a warrant for Rambo’s arrest.

The Coeur d’Alene resident had been in jail a day earlier after being arrested for possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia, both misdemeanors.

“He was a passenger in a car during a traffic stop,” Coeur d’Alene Police Capt. Dave Hagar said. “He bonded out of jail.”

Rambo and another man, Dyllan Vasseur, were arrested around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday near U.S. 95 and West Appleway Avenue for marijuana possession, paraphernalia and frequenting a place where drugs were being used, police said. Vasseur was also charged by police with DUI. Both men admitted to having multiple firearms in the vehicle.

Rambo paid the $600 bail amount and was released late Wednesday.

The felony warrant was issued around noon Thursday for charges stemming from the July 4 shooting, and Rambo was picked up by county deputies and transported back to jail.

Hagar said that when his detectives had completed their investigation last month into the July 4 incident at City Park, his department filed a report with the Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office.

The report alleges Rambo leveled a gun at officers in City Park after the Fourth of July fireworks show and in return he was shot 10 times by police. Later reports say Rambo was hit 14 times.

The incident resulted in the two felony charges against Rambo, but likely because he was in the hospital, where parts of his legs were amputated, a warrant wasn’t served until Thursday.

“We filed the result of our investigation and they take those charges in front of a judge,” Hagar said.

The charges will not be formally filed with the court until Rambo has his first court appearance today at 2 p.m. in Coeur d’Alene’s First District Magistrate Court.

Rambo, who has been represented by Rick Baughman, a former Kootenai County chief deputy prosecutor, will not get a chance to plead to the charges today, but Baughman could argue for a lower bail than the $250,000 amount listed in jail records.

A magistrate will also set a preliminary hearing date within 14 days if Rambo remains in jail, or within 21 days if he posts the bail amount.

Coeur d’Alene Police said they responded to a report of a gunshot at Independence Point at 10:10 p.m. July 4 in an area crowded with people who had watched the annual fireworks celebration.

Police asked Rambo repeatedly to drop the .357 handgun he carried, and when he refused they attempted to Taze him, police reports say. Rambo pointed the gun at police and shot once, before officers opened fire, according to police.

Rambo, who has a history of petty crimes going back to when he was a juvenile, hadn’t been out of the hospital very long prior to Wednesday’s traffic stop.

Eight Coeur d’Alene police officers who were placed on paid leave after the shooting have returned to work. An Idaho State Police investigation into the incident is ongoing.

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