[Vision2020] Fw: Fw: Hignway Snipings

Art Deco deco at moscow.com
Thu Feb 4 11:08:56 PST 2010


Keely,

You need to read much more carefully, especially noting the use of the word "some."

I am aware, probably much more than you are, of the extreme poverty, sense of hopelessness, etc that exists in rural parts of Latah County and nearby places in Benewah County such as Emida, Santa, Fernwood, Clarkia, etc.

Many of these places rely on timber industry related jobs, which thanks to the long time mismanagement of the national economy, have dwindled considerably.  Also, in Benewah County and parts of Latah County, there has been some extremely poor forest management by federal, state, and private interests including gross overcutting in my opinion.

I gave a private tour this year to a legislator to bring awareness of, and to discuss possible solutions of some of these problems.  If you drive from Moscow, through Potlatch, Harvard, Emida, Santa, Fernwood, Clarkia, Bovill and back to Moscow, you will see some heart-wrenching pockets of poverty, and you will also see in places the results of many years of forest mismanagement and over harvesting.

That does not mitigate the fact that there are some people out there in these areas, most likely many more per capita than within the city limits of Moscow, who believe that private citizens should be able to own and to use such things as anti-tank weapons, grenade launchers, hand grenades, other artillery, and automatic assault weapons, and further, it is OK for a few citizens to sell these items.  

I did have some conversations with a law enforcement official some years ago about this matter, especially since at that time there was automatic weapon fire on Moscow Mountain near where I hike almost daily at all times of the year.  The problem of detection and enforcement is twofold:  a wall of silence, and the very loose network of people with these beliefs and/or weapons.  Based on overheard conversations, I believe that the loose-knittedness has tightened since the election of President Obama.

Further, if you talk to some of these people, you will find that some of them believe that possession of these weapons is needed not to protect themselves from thieves, murderers, rapists, etc, or to hunt but to protect themselves from the government.  There is not a year that goes by that I haven't heard automatic weapons fire while hiking or bicycling somewhere in Latah or southwestern Benewah County,  and in one case in Clearwater County, not too far from Elk River Falls.

I do not dispute that Moscow has its own law enforcement problems.  However, I am not a resident of Moscow, and my opinion has zero impact on these matters on those that could do something about them.  As far as poverty goes, we make contributions to food banks, etc in at least a small effort to help those in need we support with our votes and political contributions those political figures who work toward realistic solutions to the problems of poverty.

I do live in the county and always hope for an honest, fair, objective, courageous in all respects, and intelligently managed sheriff's department.  I hope that the Deary snipings will lead to a further investigation of possible possession and/or sale of automatic assault rifles by some that might be directly involved or tangentially involved in this matter.  I do not know that this is so, but rumor and gossip is abuzz with such insinuations.

Wayne A. Fox
1009 Karen Lane
PO Box 9421
Moscow, ID  83843

waf at moscow.com
208 882-7975
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: keely emerinemix 
  To: deco at moscow.com ; vision2020 at moscow.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 9:43 PM
  Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Fw: Fw: Hignway Snipings


  OK, Wayne.

  Your Vision 2020 take on this subject stems from the story of the two young snipers from Deary, one of whom was found last week to have a pipe bomb in his basement.  You think that rural Latah County has a certain "kind of people" who populate it, and you provide this, the Ortman story, and your own editorial comment to back up your hypothesis that these people in Juliaetta, Bovill, Helmer, etc., are just different . . . more violent, less 
  predictably law-abiding . . . from the rest of us, or, perhaps more specifically, from those who live in Moscow.  I imagine you'll be able to continue to pull up police logs and other stuff that backs up your contention that "those folks" aren't like the rest of us, and I'll grant you this -- there appears to be a fair amount of crime going on outside of Moscow.

  But what bothers me about your comments so far is the apparent willingness to cast stones at rural Latah County residents without considering that Moscow has its own share of problems -- problems that make its relative "urban" culture, compared to these small towns, a less-than-ideal place sometimes as well.  We all know that a university town, virtually any university town, has its problems with alcohol, drugs, and the sexual victimization of female students.  I think you see that; you've spoken eloquently in the past against the culture of rape that sometimes seeps into college life, particularly when alcohol is involved, and I don't think you, or anyone on this list, would suggest that Moscow is free of crime, free of social stressors, free of problems.

  But in collecting for us examples of crimes taking place in Bovill and Kendrick and Elk City and other places where neither you nor I live, you risk mimicking one of the characteristics shared among too many people in Moscow.  That's an inability, for all their talk about diversity, to see beyond their relatively urban, educated, liberal smugness.  I say this as a Moscow-urban (again, in relation to, say, Helmer), educated liberal myself -- but one who has been deeply disturbed by the tendency of some of Moscow's academic, progressive elites to write off the experiences, realities, and concerns of Latah County's rural neighbors, unable, it appears, to believe that "they" exist apart from the peculiarities of what is seen as a misogynistic, gun-grains-and-God culture.  

  I remember during the school bond campaign a few years ago, when some of us on the Facilities Committee "communications/outreach" sub-group wanted to try to reach as many people, and as varied a demographic, as we could with our proposal to build a new high school.  While the majority of people on the larger committee were part of the city's business community or for whatever reason were not part of the liberal, academic enclave of CQE and FONS, that group, the CQE/FONS people, were quite involved with communications and outreach.  So was I, a school board member with feet in both camps.

  We were frustrated with a particular project at the Farmer's Market that had info and feedback from pretty much the same dozen people, and we were discussing where to take our flip charts and handouts to reach a wider variety of people -- and more of them.  We were looking for some diversity in our placement of materials and our quest for feedback, somewhere different from the Market.  When a couple of us suggested info-stations outside of Wal-Mart, Moscow Building, Schuck's, Spence, A & W, and McDonalds, the acknowledged and self-identified progressive, academic, neighborhood schools folks were, frankly, aghast.  People who went to "those places," we were told, didn't vote.  They didn't "understand" the issue, and they weren't interested.  And so, in a stunning move toward greater diversity of opinion, and with a striking degree of creativity, most of the communications/outreach people decided to move the Committee's efforts from the Farmer's Market to . . . the Co-Op.  

  I have since, and had before, seen examples of some of Moscow's liberals casting aspersions on their neighbors in Harvard and Princeton -- assuming no commonality with them and seeking no particular understanding of their day-to-day lives.  Frankly, it's disheartening at best and offensive at worst that too many of our local liberals care much more about the geographic circle of sustainability from which their tomatoes come than about the reality of hunger in places where people perhaps not as educated or affluent as they are live in trailers, drive junk cars, and can't afford to feed any fresh produce -- and perhaps not much else -- to their kids.  I've noticed that much of "academic Moscow" flocks to the Vagina Monologues but would mock the Bovill woman who blushes at the words on the marquee, and whose blushing covers up real experiences of sexual violence and degradation not affected, for better or worse, by the art of the spoken word.  And, frankly, I've had firsthand experience with earnest groups of really nice, educated, affluent, liberal townies who decry development on "their" Palouse hills instead of objecting to the poverty too often found in the valleys below them.  

  I'm afraid, Wayne, that your highlighting of "rural crimes" and your veiled suggestion that there's just something about some kinds of people out there comes too close to that kind of cynical disregard of people whose lives are often more of a struggle than you or I can imagine.  I'll grant that some people move way off the beaten track to escape the confines of social mores; sometimes, those people are gun nuts or violent men.  I'll contend, though, that much more often, people live where they can afford to live, and sometimes that's an old trailer a few miles outside of Elk River.  Sometimes, rural people do unwise things with guns.  Sometimes, rural people do store up food for Armageddon, natural disasters, or next Friday.  And sometimes, rural people do take the Christian Gospel to places it ought never go.  Let's discuss their crimes, their bad conduct, or their unwise willingness to vote against their best interests.  But let's not just toss them into the category of "the Other" whose voice really doesn't require our listening, or whose poverty really isn't much of our problem.
  Keely
  www.keely-prevailingwinds.com





------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  From: deco at moscow.com
  To: vision2020 at moscow.com
  Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 12:47:17 -0800
  Subject: [Vision2020] Fw: Fw: Hignway Snipings


  From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

  LATAH COUNTY SHERIFF

  Saturday

  10:33 p.m. - A truck window was shot out by a BB gun on Cedar Street in Bovill. 

  Sunday

  2:43 a.m. - A female was arrested for driving under the influence on Main Street in Juliaetta.

  1:49 p.m. - A male was arrested for violating a no contact order on Second Avenue in Bovill.

  5:17 p.m. - A coin collection was reportedly stolen from a residence on Johnson Road near Deary.



   See bolded remarks below:

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Art Deco 
  To: Vision 2020 
  Cc: jmills at lmtribune.com ; Nathan Alford Daily News ; asolan at dnews.com ; Murf Raquet Daily News ; dbauer at dnews.com ; billf at lmtribune.com ; sheriff at latah.id.us ; pa at latah.id.us 
  Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 2:57 PM
  Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Fw: Hignway Snipings


  One can only conclude, Roger, that you are unaware of some of the people who populate parts of Latah County, particularly some in Deary, Bovill, Princeton, Harvard, Kendrick, Juliaetta, etc  As someone who has spent time in some of the outer parts of the county, I can tell you I have meet some really scary folks.  If you talk to other people that work or recreate in the upper Palouse River drainage, Emerald Creek drainage, Meadow Creek drainage, etc, I am sure you will find these sentiments echoed.


  Also, now that information/rumors about Austin Rickert's father and grandfather, previous firings on chip trucks, unlicensed firearms dealers, the amount of lawlessness in the Deary, Bovill, Harvard, etc areas are circulating, many more questions have arisen, for example:

  Who built the fort from which the shots were fired?

  Why was the fort built in that exact location?

  Is this the first time chip trucks have been fired upon from the fort, or fired upon from any other places in Latah county?

  When, on Friday, was the first report of possible sniping actually made?

  Were both firearms used purchased from licensed firearm dealers?

  Why did the LCSD wait so long to get a search warrant?  Why did they not get it immediately after at least one sniper's identity was known?  Did that wait result in the destruction or removal of any evidence?

  I can tell you this:  There is a real angry buzz going on among a lot of people about this incident which could have been really tragic.  People want some answers, not only to the kinds of questions I have been raising, but other questions also.  So far information released has been bare bones.  Even the information included in the initial charging affidavit http://images.bimedia.net/documents/012510-hwy-shooting-Rickert.pdf is very short on details.  

  Also, both the LMT and the DN have been strongly criticized for not only being more informative, but for the lack of aggressive reporting that this incident calls for.  For example, why hasn't Jack Buell been interviewed?  There is another person who could give most likely some very pertinent, illuminating information should she consent to an interview, namely Nadine Towne, mother of and custodial parent of Austin Rickert.

  What penal and other measures should be taken against the snipers depends to some extent on whether they acted purely on their own or whether they were encouraged/abetted in any way by others.  I believe that should any plea bargain be made, it should include the condition that the suspects fully reveal the role of anyone else, no matter how small in these crimes, and they reveal such information under polygraph testing.

  If there is evidence of anyone else being involved, perhaps a Magistrate's Inquiry might be helpful in fully exploring this matter, particularly when some people would be less inclined to lie under oath or even to give information to investigators in the first place.


  Information originating from Deary sources suggests two very diverse opinions of the presence of the LCSD:  

  1.    The department has not taken alleged criminal goings on there out seriously enough in the last few years, and as a result many things that should have been or should be reported aren't.

  2.    The less we see of the LCSD, the better.

  Wayne A. Fox
  1009 Karen Lane
  PO Box 9421
  Moscow, ID  83843

  waf at moscow.com
  208 882-7975
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: lfalen 
    To: Art Deco ; Vision 2020 
    Cc: Nathan Alford Daily News ; asolan at dnews.com ; dbauer at dnews.com ; Murf Raquet Daily News ; billf at lmtribune.com ; sheriff at latah.id.us ; pa at latah.id.us ; jmills at lmtribune.com 
    Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 10:54 AM
    Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Fw: Hignway Snipings


    While most of your comments are well taken, your last statement about crackpot political/religious leaders is a bit of a stretch.
    Roger
    -----Original message-----
    From: "Art Deco" deco at moscow.com
    Date: Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:07:26 -0800
    To: "Vision 2020" vision2020 at moscow.com
    Subject: [Vision2020] Fw: Hignway Snipings

    > Since this post appeared yesterday, I've received a number of comments, including one which said I ought mind my own business since it was just a couple of kids on a harmless lark and I ought trust the sheriff to handle it.  
    > 
    > I don't believe it was a harmless lark, and I don't trust the sheriff, left to his own devices and prejudices, to conduct a complete, let-it-go-wherever-it-leads investigation, and I don't trust the sheriff to release information found in the investigation that the public not only has a right to know, but ought to know.
    > 
    > In the first post I asked some questions.  Here are some more:
    > 
    > One shot passed between two young women, likely known to the defendants, coming through the windshield of the vehicle they were in.
    > 
    > Here are some unanswered questions and statements that leads me to think that this action warrants more that an unlawful discharge of a firearm charge, perhaps even an attempted murder charge.
    > 
    > At one time in my life I was a superior marksman,  I knew a bit about firearms and was very adept at using them, including a .22 caliber rifle.
    > 
    > Again I ask these questions because the news coverage has been more than just weak and inadequate, but quite naive and a disservice to the community.
    > 
    > A WalMart quality .22 rifle even with a WalMart quality scope on it is not a very accurate weapon.  Even in the hands of a marksman, the accuracy dwindles considerably in ranges past 100 feet.  Hence if the snipers were shooting at the vehicle with the two women at a range where accuracy is questionable, then regardless if they were only aiming at the windshield, then they were certainly endangering the lives of the occupants.
    > 
    > What kind of 22. rifles were used in the assaults?  Was it a WalMart quality rifle or a high quality rifle equipped with a high quality scope or laser sight?  Where they using ordinary .22 caliber bullets or higher power bullets?  What position were they in while firing?  Was the rifle resting on something while firing?  How good of marksmen were the shooters?  The answers to these and other questions are relevant to the probable accuracy of the shots and thus the amount danger the two young women were placed in.
    > 
    > Where did the suspects get the rifles?  Where the rifles their own?  Their families?  Were they provided, in part, by some third party?  Who all provided them with instruction on these firearms?
    > 
    > What is the relationship between the two young women fired upon and the shooters?  Were the shooters aiming for the windshield or one of the occupants?
    > 
    > Before we start calling this a harmless lark and calling for leniency for two kids, we need to know a lot more information.  I think that we would be best served by having the FBI, DHS, and ATF involved heavily in this investigation so that there is a higher probability that the relevant facts will be found, that the facts will be made known to the public, and to make sure that some of our local crackpot political/religious groups were not involved in some way and have not groomed some more gullible, not-too-bright kids to pull off something similar.
    > 
    > Wayne A. Fox
    > 1009 Karen Lane
    > PO Box 9421
    > Moscow, ID  83843
    > 
    > waf at moscow.com
    > 208 882-7975
    > 
    > ______________________________________
    > 
    > Alleged Deary teen vehicle shooter charged with bomb possession
    > Posted on: Monday, February 01, 2010,  Moscow-Pullman Daily News
    > 
    > Court records identify Austin Rickert as the Deary teen who was taken back into custody and charged with an additional felony after a pipe bomb was found inside a residence Friday.
    > 
    > Rickert is accused of being involved in a series of vehicle shootings on State Highway 8 near Helmer last month.
    > 
    > He was charged with unlawful possession of destructive devices or bombs, according the Idaho State Judiciary's online repository records.
    > 
    > Following the discovery of the bomb, the area was evacuated and the Spokane Bomb Squad responded to the scene and neutralized the explosive. The search was part of an ongoing investigation involving Rickert and fellow alleged shooter Austin Medlock. The two 14-year-old Deary High School freshmen were charged with two counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm at a vehicle during a hearing at the Latah County Courthouse last Monday. The Jan. 22 incident shut down a portion of State Highway 8 between Deary and Bovill for several hours. Latah County Magistrate John Judge allowed for the release of Medlock and Rickert into the custody of their parents on the condition they not be out of sight of a parent except for when sleeping or attending school. They also were prohibited from being around firearms and will wear electronic monitoring devices, among other conditions. 
    > 
    > The teens allegedly shot as many as 20 vehicles with a .22 caliber rifle and a crossbow. The sheriff's office was continuing to investigate the case this week to determine if additional charges needed to be filed.
    > 
    > The teens allegedly discharged the weapons from a three-level, 10-foot-tall fort located near the highway, according to court records. Casings from the .22 and other evidence were apparently discovered nearby, according to the document.
    > 
    > Medlock and Rickert are scheduled to appear in court at 11 a.m. Wednesday.
    > 
    > 
    > ----- Original Message ----- 
    > From: Art Deco 
    > To: Vision 2020 
    > Cc: jmills at lmtribune.com ; Nathan Alford Daily News ; asolan at dnews.com ; Murf Raquet Daily News ; dbauer at dnews.com ; billf at lmtribune.com ; sheriff at latah.id.us ; pa at latah.id.us 
    > Sent: Sunday, January 31, 2010 1:34 PM
    > Subject: Hignway Snipings
    > 
    > 
    > I have to take the recent snipings at chip trucks and personal vehicles allegedly by two Deary area teenage suspects as serious business.  I have some questions, however, that have not been answered by newspaper accounts or press releases.
    > 
    > 1.    According to the initial press release of the incidents, the first reported sniping occurred last Friday just before 1:00pm. yet the highway wasn't closed until about 3:45pm.  What's going on here?  Shouldn't the highway have been closed as soon as possible?  Couldn't some of the snipings been prevented by such a move?  When snipings occur elsewhere, isn't sealing off and closing the sniping area done immediately?  It now appears the alleged snipers went through a police roadblock unchallenged around 2:45pm, and before the highway was closed.
    > 
    > 2.    Prior to the revelation about the possession of a pipe bomb by one of the suspects, this was still a very serious matter.  At least twenty vehicles were fired upon.  A bullet smashed the windshield of a passenger car and passed between two young women inside.  These were local Deary area women apparently known by the suspects.  Deary is not a big place, hence doesn't it seem likely that the shooters knew exactly who they were firing upon in this case?  The big question:  Why were only two charges initially filed against the suspects?
    > 
    > 3.    With the finding of the pipe bomb, this becomes a much more serious matter demanding a much closer, serious investigation, perhaps aided by the FBI, DHS, and ATF.  What explosives were used in making the pipe bomb?  How did the suspect obtain the explosives?  What was the initial source of the explosives?  Did the suspect act totally alone?  Or was he aided and abetted by others including adults including members of some of the local crackpot political/religious groups?  Are there any ties (like between friends or relatives) between the suspect and some of these crackpot groups?  Was the suspect not only encouraged by others but given material assistance and instruction?  I don't know the answers, but for the sake of local and perhaps national security, these answers ought be found and reported.
    > 
    > 4.    The press coverage has been meager.  If this had happened on I-90 in Coeur d'Alene, Kootenai County would be swarmed by national media, and at least some of the above kinds of questions (and many more) asked and perhaps answered.  In addition, the LMT revealed the name of the pipe bomb suspect.  The DN didn't claiming that the sheriff wouldn't tell them, although it appeared that the LMT story was their source.  Is it the sheriff who withheld information or the DN, either party perhaps protecting someone they considered needed protecting?
    > 
    > Again, I think this is a very serious matter.  This is not a private incident, it is a blatant public crime.  The public has a right to know the details.
    > 
    > Before making up my mind about what I think should happen to the suspects or how area law enforcement can change so that they can intelligently respond to these types of incidents much faster, I await more information.  I hope that it is forthcoming.  I'd hate to think that we are being subjected to another Steven Sitler type cover-up.
    > 
    > 
    > Wayne A. Fox
    > 1009 Karen Lane
    > PO Box 9421
    > Moscow, ID  83843
    > 
    > waf at moscow.com
    > 208 882-7975
    > 
    > __________________________________________________________
    > Pipe bomb found at teen shooting suspect's home
    > By Joel Mills Of The Tribune
    > 
    >  
    > 
    > Latah County officials rearrest 14-year-old after executing search warrant as part of shooting investigation
    > 
    > One of two juveniles arrested in connection with the shooting of up to 20 vehicles on State Highway 8 last week was retaken into custody after investigators found a pipe bomb during a search of his room Thursday, according to the Latah County Sheriff's Office. 
    > 
    > Latah County Prosecutor William Thompson Jr. said authorities rearrested Austin James Rickert Thursday after a PVC pipe stuffed with fireworks powder and primed with a fuse was found in the room he uses at his grandfather's residence on Forks Road near Helmer. 
    > 
    > Thompson said the bomb was likely made before the Jan. 22 shooting incident that lasted for more than three hours and temporarily closed the highway between Deary and Bovill. 
    > 
    > "We don't have anything to suggest he actually made this device or possessed this device subsequent to his release," Thompson said. 
    > 
    > Authorities allege Rickert and his friend Austin Blake Medlock used two .22-caliber rifles and a crossbow to shoot at vehicles from a three-story fort on Rickert's grandfather's property, where the boy sometimes stays. 
    > 
    > Most of the bullets hit tractor-trailers, but at least two passenger vehicles were struck. No one was injured, but one round passed through the passenger compartment of one car, narrowly missing two girls. 
    > 
    > Thompson said Rickert's father lives at the Forks Road residence full time. Rickert lives with his mother in Deary but has a room reserved for him at the Forks Road residence, he said. 
    > 
    > Deputies were executing a search warrant as part of their investigation into the shootings, according to a news release issued Friday afternoon by sheriff's Lt. Brannon Jordan. Officials evacuated the area around the home, and a bomb squad from Spokane neutralized the device, Jordan said. 
    > 
    > Rickert appeared in court Friday, where he was charged with felony unlawful possession of bombs or destructive devices. Earlier this week, Rickert and Medlock - both 14-year-old freshmen at Deary High School - were charged with unlawfully discharging a firearm at a vehicle in connection with the Jan. 22 shootings. 
    > 
    > Latah County Magistrate John Judge released Medlock and Rickert to their parents last week, on the condition neither leave the sight of one of their parents; that all guns be removed from their homes; that they not touch a firearm; that the parents take them to and from school; that they both wear electronic monitoring devices; and they agree to be searched at any time by authorities. 
    > 
    > Thompson said Rickert's rearrest is a separate issue and was not due to a violation of Judge's conditions for release. 
    > 
    > Rickert will remain in the Latah County Jail for the weekend, and probably until scheduling hearings on Wednesday for both juveniles, Thompson said. 
    > 
    > Lewis County Magistrate Stephen Calhoun, the regular juvenile judge for Latah County, will handle hearings for Rickert and Medlock from now on, Thompson said. 
    > 
    > He said while the investigation into the shootings and the pipe bomb is ongoing, there is nothing to suggest the teens were planning a larger attack. 
    > 
    > "What happened last Friday was really serious and really dangerous," Thompson said. "We're waiting to see if there is anything else behind this." 
    > 
    > --- 
    > 
    > Mills may be contacted at jmills at lmtribune.com or (208) 883-0564. 
    > 
    > 
    > ___________________________________
    > 
    > Teen charged in shootings arrested after bomb found
    > Spokane Bomb Squad neutralizes device found in suspect's residence
    > Staff report
    > 
    > Posted on: Saturday, January 30, 2010
    > 
    > 
    > 
    > One of the two teens charged with felonies in last week's Highway 8 shootings near Helmer is back in custody after a pipe bomb was discovered inside the residence following a search warrant.
    > 
    > Following the discovery of the bomb, the area was evacuated and the Spokane Bomb Squad responded to the scene and neutralized the explosive.
    > 
    > The search was part of an ongoing investigation involving alleged shooters Austin B. Medlock and Austin J. Rickert. The two 14-year-old Deary High School freshmen each were charged with two counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm at a vehicle during a hearing at the Latah County Courthouse on Monday. The Jan. 22 incident shut down a portion of State Highway 8 between Deary and Bovill for several hours.
    > 
    > Latah County dispatcher Jenny Bryant said the department is not releasing the name of which of the boys was taken back into custody as of Friday evening. The teen has been charged with unlawful possession of bombs or destructive devices along with the two other felony counts. 
    > 
    > Latah County Magistrate John Judge allowed for the release of Medlock and Rickert into the custody of their parents on the condition they not be out of sight of a parent except for when sleeping or attending school. They also were prohibited from being around firearms and will wear electronic monitoring devices, among other conditions.
    > 
    > The teens allegedly shot as many as 20 vehicles with a .22 caliber rifle and a crossbow. The sheriff's office was continuing to investigate the case this week to determine if additional charges needed to be filed.
    > 
    > The teens allegedly discharged the weapons from a three-level, 10-foot-tall fort located near the highway, according to court records. Casings from the .22 and other evidence were apparently discovered nearby, according to the document.
    > 
    > The two teens allegedly left the fort around 2:45 p.m. to attend basketball practice in Deary and actually went through the vehicle identification section of the roadblock outside of Helmer. They were eventually taken into custody separately later Friday evening.
    > 
    > Medlock and Rickert are scheduled to again appear in court at 11 a.m. Wednesday.
    > 
    > _______________________________
    > 
    > Courtesy of today's (January 23, 2010) Moscow-Pullman Daily News.
    > 
    > ------------------------------------------------------
    > 
    > Boys charged for vehicle shootings near Helmer
    > No one injured during Friday afternoon incident
    > Staff report
    > 
    > Posted on: Saturday, January 23, 2010
    > 
    > Two male juveniles were in custody at the Latah County Jail on Friday
    > night for allegedly shooting several vehicles on State Highway 8 near
    > Helmer.
    > 
    > The boys have been charged with unlawful discharge of a firearm at a
    > vehicle, a felony, according to a media release from Latah County
    > Sheriff's Office Lt. Brannon Jordan. Officials did not release the boys'
    > names Friday.
    > 
    > No injuries have been reported related to the shootings, the release states.
    > 
    > The sheriff's department began receiving reports of vehicles being struck
    > by gunfire in the Forks Road area east of Helmer at about 1 p.m. Friday.
    > Dispatcher Nathan Reetz said the shooting continued over the course of the
    > afternoon, with about 20 shots fired. Officials believe about 10 vehicles
    > were struck, though there is not yet an official count.
    > 
    > Reetz said about eight of the vehicles were semi trucks. Dispatcher Marci
    > Williams said the semis were operated by Jack Buell Trucking.
    > 
    > Sheriff's officials and Idaho State Police shut down the highway from 3:44
    > p.m. to 4:31 p.m. as they secured the area of the shootings. Officials did
    > not locate anyone on the scene, but later identified the location from
    > which the shots were fired and identified the juveniles, according to the
    > report.
    > 
    > The boys were taken into custody at 7:20 p.m. and 8:34 p.m., respectively,
    > Reetz said. He said no further information about the suspects was
    > available as of press time Friday.
    > 
    > Information about what type of firearm was used in the shootings also was
    > unavailable.
    > 
    > The incident remains under investigation, according to the release, but
    > the sheriff's office has determined there is no further threat.
    > 
    > 
    > 
    > 
    >  
    > 
    >


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