Looking back: Stray bullet goes through house and teenagers shoot at officers on freeway
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IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of Oct. 21 to Oct. 27 in east Idaho history.
1900-1925
BLACKFOOT — A “strange woman” showed up at a local sheriff’s office and claimed she had escaped from the asylum in Blackfoot, The Bingham County News reported on Oct. 23, 1913.
The woman, who told officers her name was Minas, said she escaped by using a ladder that was by a window. She said she pried a bar while the matrons were eating dinner.
“(She said) her home was in Boise and she had a husband and two sons in that city, and was tired of the six years she had spent in the asylum,” the article states.
The article continues, “The woman seemed very rational and answered all questions in a straightforward way, stating that she wished the officers to provide her with the necessary money to make the journey home.”
The officers informed the asylum employees but had “considerable trouble to make them understand as they had not missed the patient.”
After “some delay” from the asylum employees, the woman was taken back to the asylum.
1926-1950
MALTA — A hitchhiker died in a truck passenger seat as the driver was giving him a ride, The Burley Herald reported on Oct. 22, 1929.
A Twin Falls man was driving his Intermountain Produce Company truck east between Burley and Pocatello when he picked up the hitchhiker, believed to be William Colbert, about six miles east of Declo.
The hitchhiker, whose address was unknown, died on the seat about the time they reached Raft River near Malta.
“Wires are being sent to addresses found in his pocket and all other known methods are being tried in an effort to locate someone who knows the deceased or relatives,” the paper mentioned.
1951-1975
LEWISVILLE — A stray bullet went through a family’s home as they were sitting at their table for breakfast, The Rigby Star reported on Oct. 24, 1957.
The bullet went through the house belonging to Mr. and Mrs. Keith Bramwell and their five children, who lived west of Lewisville.
“The family were seated at the breakfast table about 9:40 when a bullet, evidently from a high-powered rifle, came crashing through the east porch window, glancing off and shattering a window above the kitchen table,” The Rigby Star wrote. “Mrs. Bramwell had just entered the kitchen from the porch entry.”
The bullet made a hole the size of a baseball in the window about six feet from the floor.
The incident was being investigated by a member of the Fish and Game Department and Jefferson County Sheriff Howard Shaffer.
“Shaffer described the slug as a spent bullet, probably fired from the west side of the river,” the article mentions. “The Bramwell ranch and home is on the east side of the river.”
1976-2000
BLACKFOOT — Three teenagers who escaped from the Idaho Youth Services Center were wounded in a shootout with police officers south of Blackfoot, the Idaho Falls Post Register reported on Oct. 24, 1977.
Max Brand, administrator of the center at St. Anthony, said the three teenagers were ages 16, 17 and 18. They “had been under average security at the institution” and walked away Saturday afternoon.
According to police reports, the youth caught a ride to Rexburg, stole a car and wrecked it on the way to Idaho Falls. In Idaho Falls, they stole another vehicle that had two shotguns inside and eventually wrecked the car. A third vehicle, which also contained a gun, was then stolen and the youth made their way to Blackfoot.
A Bingham County Sheriff’s dispatcher said the teenagers stopped at a home northeast of Blackfoot Saturday night and knocked on the door. The homeowner slammed the door shut when he saw the gun.
“The youths shot a hole in the door, but no one was injured,” the dispatcher told the Post Register. “She said the youths told the officers they had planned to rob the man for gas money.”
The stolen truck was stopped by a Fort Hall reservation officer one mile south of Blackfoot but took off again, with the reservation officer and a deputy in pursuit.
The vehicle then went onto Interstate 15 and “was pursued back and forth on the freeway by an unknown number of deputies, reservation officers, state police and Blackfoot police.”
The dispatcher said the shotgun was fired at officers, who returned fire, wounding the youth and bringing them to a stop eight miles south of Blackfoot.
The 17 year old was wounded in the wrist and the 18 year old in the head. Those two were treated at a local hospital then taken to the Bingham County Jail. The 16 year old was wounded in the shoulder and thigh and underwent surgery. He was listed in “fair condition.”
Blackfoot police said the 18 year old was Russell Rhuman. No other names were released. All three were charged with possession of a deadly weapon with intent to commit murder. No officers were wounded.