Pocatello man charged with kidnapping, assault and injury to a child
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POCATELLO — A man police say trapped a mother and two small children inside a home while threatening to shoot himself has been charged with multiple felonies.
Justin Eugene Stewart, 35, faces charges of aggravated assault, injury to a child and second-degree kidnapping, court records show.
Pocatello police responded to reports of a man threatening himself with a gun at a home on Bench Road around 10:30 p.m. Oct. 13, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
When officers arrived, they immediately identified the man as Stewart and arrested him without incident.
Officers then spoke with a woman who said she had been arguing with Stewart when he told her he would “blow his head off” with a shotgun, leaving a mess for her to clean up. She said her two children were present at the time of the incident.
When Stewart made the violent threat, the woman took her children to a bedroom to remove them from the situation. But, she said, Stewart followed her to the room and blocked her exit.
The argument continued and Stewart, again in front of the children, threatened self-harm while holding a loaded shotgun.
The woman told police she was texting a family member for help, but was afraid if Stewart saw her communicating with someone “it would have ended badly” for her and her children, according to the affidavit.
She told police Stewart was blocking the only route she and the children — five-months- and 19-months-old, respectively — could use to exit the home.
Officers found the gun, loaded with a single shell, at the home.
Stewart refused to speak with officers and was taken to Bannock County Jail, where he was booked and is being held on a $10,000 bond with no-contact orders barring him from contact with the victims.
Though Stewart 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, Stewart could face up to 40 years in prison.
He is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing before Magistrate Judge Carol Tippi Jarman on Oct. 30.