Neighbors get drop on suspects

Pair suspected of burglarizing home

SANDPOINT — Neighbors held at gunpoint two Bonner County men suspected of burglarizing a home southeast of Oldtown on Saturday.

Gabriel W. Bujko of Oldtown and Daniel D. Johnson of Priest River were ultimately arrested on the burglary charges and remain held at the Bonner County Jail with bail set at $25,000. Judge Debra Heise appointed public defenders on Monday to represent both suspects.

Hearings to determine whether enough evidence exceeds to proceed to trial are pending in magistrate court.

Neighbors reported seeing a suspicious vehicle on their property at about 9:30 p.m., according to probable cause hearing testimony. When they went to investigate, they discovered a door standing open at a home in the 400 block of Dinger Lane. The suspects were reportedly confronted by the neighbors when they returned to the vehicle.

Bujko, 24, apparently told deputies he went to the home not to burglarize it, but to set up a video camera in order to surreptitiously record its occupant, whom he suspected of being involved in a date rape. Johnson, 18, offered a similar account but had trouble explaining why they had a duffel bag, backpack and crowbar, court testimony indicates.