KOOTENAI CO., Idaho -- The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said a Cataldo woman was assaulted in her home by a Post Falls man, who was involved in a spree of crimes across the Idaho panhandle.
Around 12:12 p.m., the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office responded to 911 call from E. Canyon Rd. in Cataldo. The victim told deputies she heard a knock at her door and looked out to see a black car, which she believed to be her dad’s, according to the sheriff’s office.
After she opened the door, she could hear noises coming from her garage, the sheriff’s office said. She went into the garage to investigate, when a chair was hurled in her direction, according to the sheriff’s office.
Then a man allegedly approached and reached up with his left hand, put it around her neck, slammed her against a wall and told her if she followed him, he would kill her, the sheriff’s office said. The woman described him as having a half-moon tattoo on his face and last saw him heading toward Rose Lake, according to the sheriff’s office.
Shortly after that incident, another call came in from Hayden Lp. And Canyon Rd., just east of the first incident location, the sheriff’s office said. The suspect, who matched the description from the first call, backed his car into some bushes and left it running, according to the sheriff’s office.
The suspect knocked on the owner’s door and told him he was having car trouble, and asked to borrow some tools, the sheriff’s office said. The homeowner retrieved some tools and offered to help, according to the sheriff’s office.
When the homeowner saw the vehicle backed into the bushes, still running, he asked the suspect about it, the sheriff’s office said. The suspect did not respond to the question, got in his car and drove off, according to the sheriff’s office.
During those incidents, authorities learned that a suspect matching the description from the first 911 call may have been involved in robbery and aggravated battery in St. Maries earlier that day, the sheriff’s office said. Later Friday, a caller told authorities they saw someone in the bushes along I-90 near Rose Lake, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies with the sheriff’s office and troopers with Idaho state Police converged on the area and found a man matching the description from the previous call, the sheriff’ office said. They arrested the man, who they identified as Mark K. Hall, 49, of Post Falls, according to the sheriff’s office.
Hall is on felony probation for eluding and was booked into the Kootenai County Jail on charges of burglary and aggravated assault along with warrants out of Benewah County from the incident that occurred earlier Friday, the sheriff’s office said.
