Standoff ends without bloodshed

SANDPOINT — An armed standoff between a Sandpoint man and law enforcement ended peacefully on Sunday night.

Codi Michael Muskrat was arrested after a 30-minute stalemate with Sandpoint Police and a Bonner County sheriff's deputy, court records show.

Muskrat, 24, is charged with exhibiting a deadly weapon, battery, petty theft and resisting arrest, all of which are misdemeanors. A felony assault charge was recommended, but not filed against Muskrat as of Monday, when he made an initial court appearance.

Bonner County Magistrate Court Judge Lori Meulenberg appointed a public defender to represent him and set his bond at $900, according to court documents.

The episode began at about 8:30 p.m., after Muskrat got into a physical altercation with a relative outside a Ponderay gas station. Muskrat allegedly berated her and snatched her car keys and smartphone, a Sandpoint Police report said.

The 19-year-old relative told officers she punched him in the face to halt the abuse and he exited the vehicle. The two crossed paths on the Sand Creek Bridge on Schweitzer Cutoff Road and Muskrat attempted to re-enter the vehicle without success.

A fire vehicle encountered the two and its driver activated the rig's emergency lights, prompting Muskrat to flee into the woods. Muskrat was found on the porch of his Maddie Lane home with what appeared to be a AR-15 variant assault rifle in his lap.

During the ensuing standoff, Muskrat allegedly threatened to shoot officers as the relative he was accused of attacking and Officer Ben Koester tried to coax him into surrendering peacefully. He also placed the rifle's muzzle in his mouth at one point, the report said.

Muskrat laid the weapon down and the relative ejected the magazine and a chambered round and moved it away from him. Muskrat allegedly retrieved the weapon and inserted the clip upon seeing a deputy moving in from a concealed location, the report said.

With the rifle at his side, Muskrat allegedly approached Deputy Brandon Littrell with his chest out, prompting Littrell to push him into a deck chair and subdue him with the help of other officers. Muskrat resisted and was hit with a jolt from a Tazer, the report said.

The rifle turned out to be a .22-caliber Mossberg International 715T, which is designed to mimic the look and feel of an AR-15 assault rifle.

Based on communications found on Muskrat's phone, authorities believe Muskrat was intending to provoke a shootout in which he would be killed by law enforcement, the report said.