One jailed after 'kidnapping' |
| April 16, 2013 |
|
Quick action by a Bonners Ferry Police Officer
didn't end in an arrest for kidnapping, but it
did stop a drunk driver Sunday night. Officer Chris Langan was on routine patrol when a motorist stopped him and reported having just seen a woman being forced, apparently against her will, into a vehicle occupied by two men on Highway 95 in south Bonners Ferry. Langan notified dispatch of the potential kidnapping report at 11:54 p.m. April 14 and said he was going in search of the suspect vehicle, having but a vague description and the motorist's report that the vehicle was traveling south. He caught up with a vehicle similar to the one described, the sole rig on that part of the highway, and pulled it over in the turnout at the top of Peterson Hill just minutes after receiving the report, and at about 11:10 p.m. called for backup and to temporarily close the highway, as the three people in the vehicle were not cooperating. Within moments, two Boundary County Sheriff's Deputies were on scene as well as several U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents, who blocked the highway to any traffic. The highway remained closed for less than half an hour after it was ascertained that the vehicle's three occupants did not pose a threat. Once the three were detained, Langan contacted the person who reported the incident and compare it with stories the three were telling. He determined that there had been an argument, but no kidnapping, that the woman in the vehicle, Maria Gonyou, 23, Hayden, was not being held against her will. The driver of the vehicle, Jaerad Steger, 24, Naples, however, in addition to being belligerent, was intoxicated as well, and he was taken into custody, charged with DUI and obstructing a peace officer. He remains in custody in the Boundary County Jail as of this report. Neither Gonyou or the third passenger, Jordan Kerr, 25, also of Kootenai County, were charged. |