Tree climbing suspect caught
Bonner County Daily Bee | UPDATED 5 years, 8 months AGO
SPIRIT LAKE — After a multi-agency search, a suspect wanted on a pair of warrants was finally located up a tree.
Deputies responded to the area of Krupp and Kohler roads to check on a report of suspicious vehicles on Forest Service land and of people coming and going from the area. Upon arrival they discovered two trailers and the pickup, which turned out to be a stolen rental out of Ada County, Capt. Tim Hemphill, Bonner County Sheriff’s Office public information officer, said.
As deputies investigated the camp and tried to locate anyone nearby, a motorcyclist approached the area before taking off as soon as law enforcement attempted to stop him, Hemphill said.
However, “he couldn’t go very far because their vehicles were right down the road,” he added. “He dropped the bike and ran from them with a handgun.”
In addition to Bonner County deputies, multiple other agencies responded, including a K-9 unit and deputies from Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, Priest River Police, Spirit Lake Police, and U.S. Forest Service law enforcement.
The man was recognized as Sean Allen Patterson, 46, by one of the officers at the scene and identified as one of the people registered to one of the trailers at the site.
Patterson was booked into Bonner County Jail on the two Ada County warrants Monday afternoon, one a misdemeanor warrant for trespassing and a second for felony grant theft.
Law enforcement attempted to set up a perimeter, made more difficult because of large lots and multiple treed areas, but K-9 units were able to track Patterson to a nearby wooded area where he was seen by one of the deputies.
“He had been up a tree and he climbed down and ran through the woods and a short time later they located him in another tree in the area,” Hemphill said.
After some negotiations, Patterson was coaxed out of the tree and surrendered without incident.
Hemphill said it appears Patterson was living back in the woods in those trailers.
An investigation is still ongoing, which could result in further charges, Hemphill said.