American Falls man tased after armed standoff

AMERICAN FALLS — An American Falls man was tased after police say he fired a gun inside a home with children present.

Scott Andrew Alvey, 35, faces felony charges for discharging a firearm into an inhabited building and three counts of injury to a child. He has also been charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest, court documents show.

Power County dispatch received a 911 call just before midnight Sunday. The caller reported hearing what sounded like gunshots on the 200 block of Monroe Street, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

When American Falls Police officers arrived, they heard “loud banging noises” coming from inside one of the homes in the area. As they approached, they heard a “very loud bang,” which they recognized as gunfire.

Officers took cover behind vehicles parked on the street and shined flashlights on the home. They gave commands for anyone inside to come out with hands raised.

Then they saw a child get out of a vehicle in the driveway. A woman came out of the home carrying a small child and screaming. Officers saw another child following the woman.

The woman told officers that Alvey was inside the home, and he was both armed and intoxicated.

One of the officers knew Alvey from a previous incident, in which police arrested Alvey on suspicion of attempted strangulation. That officer once again commanded Alvey to come outside.

A short time later, Alvey approached the front door. Police said he was trying to break through a screen door. Officers again commanded him to show his hands.

Officers noted in reports that Alvey yelled multiple times for police to shoot him. He then raised a shotgun he had been holding and racked it.

The woman, who had taken cover with the children at the direction of the officers, pleaded that the officers not shoot Alvey.

Instead of showing his hands, Alvey went back inside.

The woman then ran toward the home. Officers yelled for the woman to stay back and ran after her.

Once inside, they saw the woman pleading with Alvey to drop the weapon while trying to take it from him.

Standing fewer than 10 feet from Alvey, officers pointed their guns at him and ordered him to drop his weapon.

The woman eventually took the gun from Alvey.

Officers tried to cuff him, but Alvey told them, “Don’t touch me,” and allegedly shoved one of the officers away.

While one of the officers pulled the woman away from Alvey, two others fired Tasers, both hitting him.

Officers placed Alvey under arrest and requested medical attention, for Taser wounds and injuries he had suffered to his hands.

Police reports are unclear when Alvey sustained the injuries to his hands.

Officers then took control of the shotgun. They found that a round was chambered.

Once he was medically cleared, officer questioned Alvey.

He said he realized what he had done was dumb, the affidavit says. He also admitted to firing one or two shots into the ceiling of the home, but said he was not sure if their were children present inside the home at the time.

Officers found three holes in the ceiling of the home the believed to be consistent with shotgun fire. Officers also found blood smeared on surfaces throughout the home.

They also noticed a small wound to the bridge of the woman’s nose.

She said that the incident began after the two of them had been drinking at a barbecue. The woman said that she hit Alvey, and he told her to leave before grabbing the gun and threatening to shoot himself.

Alvey was arrested and transported to Power County Jail, where he is being held on a $100,000 bond.

Though Alvey has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

If he is found guilty of all four felonies, Alvey could face up to 55 years in prison.

He is scheduled to appear in court before Magistrate Judge Paul Laggis for a preliminary hearing on June 14.