Man taken into custody after driving vehicle into bake shop

AMMON — A local bake shop closed its lobby to customers Wednesday morning after a man drove his car into one of the windows, shattered glass, and yelled that people would die.

Karl A. Watson, 23, was arrested and booked into the Bonneville County Jail after the incident that took place around 5:15 a.m. at Geraldine’s Bake Shoppe & Deli in Ammon.

Amber Miller, the business owner’s daughter, told EastIdahoNews.com it happened about 15 minutes after she had arrived for work.

“There was a gentleman definitely under the influence of something. He decided to try and drive through the building,” Miller said. “He came through and acted like he was going to park but then he just kept driving and he drove right through the window, not all the way through, but the glass came down.”

She said he backed up and drove through the parking lot in what looked like a Dodge sedan.

“He was kind of driving crazy through the parking lot and then he came and did the exact same thing where he was just trying to push the glass with his car again,” Miller said. “Then backed up and parked properly in the parking spot before getting out of his car. He then started yelling at us.”

Miller called 911 while trying to keep her and the three other employees safe.

“He went around the passenger side of the car and got into the back seat and started to get something out. I don’t know what he was getting but he shut the door,” she said. “I didn’t know if he was armed so I was trying to make sure that all the employees were safe.”

Miller said she and the employees began to back further into the building because they didn’t know what he was doing.

“He just kept yelling that there were people that were going to die. He then tried to get into the front door. The front doors were still locked luckily. He proceeded to try and kick the glass out of the window so that he could get through,” Miller said.

Miller said she and her colleagues locked themselves inside a room while waiting for law enforcement, who arrived three to four minutes later. None of the employees recognized Watson and he was never able to get inside the bake shop.

“I was a little shaken up by it. With everything that has gone on in the news lately in the last couple of days, you just never know what people are going to do,” Miller said. “It was scary, especially where he got out and was yelling about how people were going to die. It was crazy.”

Deputies from the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office responded along with an Idaho State Police trooper.

They believe Watson was intoxicated and found him in possession of a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, according to a news release from the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office.

The circumstances that brought Watson to that location are still being investigated, the release said.

Watson had an active warrant for his arrest out of Bonneville County and he was transported to the Bonneville County Jail after a medical clearance at a local hospital.  

He was booked on the outstanding warrant, felony malicious injury to property, and misdemeanor charges for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. 

Sgt. Bryan Lovell, a spokesman with the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, told EastIdahoNews.com that Watson was not armed.

As for Miller and the business, the lobby of Geraldine’s is currently boarded up. There’s no estimate on how much damage will cost. The lobby and drive-thru is currently open.