Andrew M. Dearmin, who records show resided in Sandpoint, was not breathing when police arrived on the scene where Mr. Dearmin was being restrained by a store security guard. The guard had chased Mr. Dearmin on foot after he had allegedly shoplifted items from a Super 1 grocery store in Coeur d'Alene.
According to reports, at approximately 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17, at the Super 1 grocery store on Kathleen Avenue in Coeur d'Alene, the store's loss-prevention officer suspected Mr. Dearmin of shoplifting. When Mr. Dearmin fled the store, the store officer chased Mr. Dearmin. The officer caught the man and detained him on the ground. The man asked to get up, but began fighting the officer and was eventually taken to the ground again.
"Witnesses who were nearby state the male began to fight to get away from the loss-prevention officer, who was trying to detain him," said Seargent Christie Wood of the Coeur d'Alene Police Department. At some point afterward, the man became unresponsive, and was not breathing when police arrived. Police officers administered CPR, and the man was taken to Kootenai Health. Reports indicate the man died at 11:13 p.m. that night.
Reportedly, a woman was with Mr. Dearmin at the store. "Information obtained from the female (who) was with the male subject is that the male was under the influence of illegal drugs at the time of the incident," Ms. Wood said.
The case continues under investigation, and an autopsy and toxicology tests are being done as part of that investigation. The store security officer has not been charged with a crime.
Just this past April, employees at what was then the Radio Shack store on Main Street in downtown
Bonners Ferry noticed that a laptop that had
been on display in the store was missing. Upon
reviewing video footage from security cameras in
the store, photos were released showing what
appeared to be a man in the store hiding a
laptop under his clothing.An investigation by Bonners Ferry Police resulted in an arrest warrant being issued at that time for Andrew M. Dearmin, apparently the same man who was involved in the Super 1 incident detailed above.