Man arrested after allegedly threatening multiple people with a potato peeler
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IDAHO FALLS — A man accused of threatening people inside an Idaho Falls home said he used a potato peeler in self-defense.
Lawrence Aaron Stacey, 40, is charged with two counts of felony aggravated assault and one count of misdemeanor domestic battery without traumatic injury.
According to court documents, an Idaho Falls Police officer was dispatched to the home on Friday for a report of a domestic disturbance.
The reporting party stated she and her children were being cornered in a garage by a man identified as Stacey, who was “armed with a potato peeler.”
When the officer arrived, he met with Stacey outside the home, who said the woman who reported the crime and a man in the home had tried to force him to leave the house.
Stacey reportedly told police the man “attacked him with a shovel” and showed the officer a small red mark above his left elbow.
In police reports, the officer writes that the mark “was not consistent with the shape, size or capability of a long-handled spade shovel.”
Stacey told the officer the man in the home had tried to harm him, so he used a potato peeler to defend himself.
When asked why he remained in the home and why the woman waited about 20 minutes to call 911, Stacey reportedly could not answer.
Officers then talked to the woman and man inside the house, who said Stacey was angry at the woman and threatened to stab the man.
Stacey reportedly retrieved a potato peeler from the kitchen after not being able to find any knives and swung the peeler toward both victims but did not make contact.
The woman told police she armed herself with a shovel and kept it between Stacey and herself while protecting her children behind her.
Stacey was arrested and booked into the Bonneville County Jail on a $40,000 bond.
He is expected to appear for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 30. If convicted, Stacey could face up to 10 and a half years in prison.
Though Stacey has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.