Pocatello man charged for allegedly beating, holding woman captive
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POCATELLO — A Pocatello man police say beat a woman and held her at gunpoint inside her home has been charged with several felonies.
Allen John Wurzel, 54, has been charged with second-degree kidnapping, domestic battery, attempted strangulation and two counts of aggravated assault, court records show.
Pocatello Police officers responded to a report of a physical disturbance at a home on the 4100 block of Chert Lane around 6:30 a.m. Thursday, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The caller told officers a man, later identified as Wurzel, was in her home with a gun, threatening to kill her.
Officers received a second call from a witness, reporting Wurzel was in the victim’s home and holding a gun to his own head.
Upon arrival at the home, one officer spoke with the witness while others began staging near the front door with ballistic shields. According to police reports, officers could hear yelling coming from inside the home, then the front door swung open, and a woman came out of the house running and yelling.
Wurzel followed the woman out of the house waving what officers describe in reports as a “derringer-style pistol.”
Officers demanded Wurzel drop the gun, which he did “after several seconds of hesitation,” the affidavit says.
Wurzel was placed under arrest and in the back of a police cruiser while officers continued speaking with the victim and witness.
The witness told officers that he saw Wurzel strike the victim multiple times and throw her to the ground. He added that, while he was carrying his own gun at the time of the incident, he decided not to use it as he did not believe Wurzel intended to use his.
However, the witness added that he grew more concerned someone could be harmed as the incident continued.
The witness told officers he tried to enter the house behind Wurzel and the victim but was forced out by Wurzel. He said Wurzel pointed a gun at the witness, the victim and himself. Once he was again outside with the struggle ongoing inside the house, the witness called police.
The victim told officers she was involved in a fight with Wurzel, during which Wurzel tried to strangle her, wrapping his hands around her throat and squeezing.
She said that once the witness was forced out of the house, Wurzel held the gun to his own head, then hers, saying “I will kill you.” The victim said that, during the struggle, Wurzel slammed her head into the wall near the front door.
Officers found a hole in the wall they listed in reports as consistent with the victim’s telling of the incident.
Officers also noted injuries on the victim’s knees consistent with hers and the witness’ reports of her falling as she ran up the driveway to get away from Wurzel. She told officers that, after she fell, Wurzel dragged her into the home by her hair.
The victim told officers that over the course of the struggle, she was punched, kicked and pistol-whipped “repeatedly.”
Wurzel spoke with officers, claiming there had not been any type of disturbance before officers arrived.
He was taken to Bannock County Jail, where he was booked and is being held on a $50,000 bond. A no-contact order has been issued barring him from any contact with the victim.
He is scheduled to appear in court before Magistrate Judge Carol Tippi Jarman for a preliminary hearing on Monday.
Though Wurzel 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, Wurzel would face up to 60 years in prison.