Name of suspect in manhunt that resulted in man’s death released
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IDAHO FALLS — Authorities have released the identity of the suspect arrested after a manhunt that resulted in the death of another man Monday morning.
Shortly after midnight, a Bonneville County Sheriff’s deputy pulled over a car with a broken taillight near First Street and Lincoln Drive in Idaho Falls. As the car stopped, authorities say a man now identified as 22-year-old Tanner Shoesmith opened the passenger door and took off running through a neighborhood, according to a Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office news release.
The manhunt followed with law enforcement from around the area, searching the neighborhood for Shoesmith. A description of a man wearing a black shirt and khaki pants was given out over the radio. Neighbors spotted the man running and reportedly told police he could have a gun, Idaho Falls Police Chief Bryce Johnson said on Monday.
As police kept looking for Shoesmith, they learned he had three warrants for failing to show up to court on charges of felony battery upon a police officer, resisting arrest, and providing false information to police. Deputies gave this information to law enforcement searching for the suspect, according to BCSO spokesman Bryan Lovell in a news release.
RELATED | Officer killed man in backyard as police searched for suspect
A woman in the car with Shoesmith showed deputies a text message with the GPS location of Shoesmith, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by EastIdahoNews.com. The GPS location put Shoesmith in the backyard of a home on the corner of Tendoy and Syringa drives.
Minutes earlier, officers in the area spoke to a man at that house, saying they were looking for a suspect and would be in the area for a while, according to police.
What happened next isn’t exactly clear, but the Idaho Falls Police Department said they heard yelling coming from the backyard of that home. Police say a man with a gun wearing a black shirt was in the yard. An officer then fired a single shot, hitting and killing the man, the same one different officers spoke with before.
Authorities have not yet released the name of the deceased, nor that of the officer, who has been placed on administrative leave.
Around 12:26 a.m., police found Shoesmith hiding in a shed on Linden Drive, a block over from the officer-involved shooting.
Deputies booked Shoesmith into the Bonneville County Jail on his warrants and a new misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest.
The investigation of the officer-involved shooting remains ongoing by the Eastern Idaho Critical Incident Task Force. The multi-jurisdictional police agency is tasked with investigating officer-involved shootings in the area.