Rambo sentenced to prison
KAYE THORNBRUGH | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 11 months AGO
Accused Fourth of July shooter Tyler Rambo took the stand in his March trial. Image via Zoom.
Kaye Thornbrugh is a second-generation Kootenai County resident who has been with the Coeur d’Alene Press for six years. She primarily covers Kootenai County’s government, as well as law enforcement, the legal system and North Idaho College. | June 30, 2021 11:23 AM
COEUR d’ALENE — Fourth of July shooter Tyler Rambo will spend up to 10 years in prison.
Judge Cynthia Meyer sentenced Rambo on Wednesday to 10 years in prison for three counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer, with five years fixed and credit for time served.
The sentences are to be served concurrently.
A jury handed down a split verdict in March in 20-year-old Rambo’s case for two shootings that occurred in City Park on July 4, 2019.
Though Rambo was found not guilty of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated assault, he was convicted of three counts of aggravated assault of a peace officer for brandishing a firearm and refusing commands to drop it.
The jury also added an assault with a deadly weapon enhancement.
Rambo was accused of second-degree attempted murder for shooting at a man during an altercation during the July 4 celebration.
A group of people ganged up on him during the fight, he said, including Spokane resident Jawaun Anderson, who prosecutors said he tried to shoot in the head. Rambo said he fired a shot into the air to stop the attack.
Prosecutors said Rambo also pointed a gun at another person before running from the scene.
Witnesses testified that they saw multiple people kicking and punching Rambo while he was on the ground. Several testified that they saw the gun pointed in the air when it went off.
Coeur d’Alene police said Rambo, who was 18 years old at the time, ran from them after the initial shooting and refused to drop his gun or get on the ground.
After police shocked Rambo with a stun gun while his hands were in the air, the gun in his hand went off. Police shot him 14 times in response.
Rambo lost both legs at the hips as a result of the shooting.
Nicole Ellis, Rambo’s mother, released police body camera footage of the shooting in March.
Rambo has been in jail for about 21 months, since his arrest in September 2019.
He reportedly spent the first nine months of his incarceration in solitary confinement. In Idaho, any bail amount set at more than $500,000 requires a solitary confinement designation; Rambo was initially held on $1 million bail.
This is a developing story.
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