Time served in standoff case

SANDPOINT — A Washington state man was sentenced to time served after leading law enforcement on a low-speed chase to a Sunnyside home, where he allegedly pointed a rifle at a Sandpoint Police officer.

James David Biddix apologized for his conduct in connection with the Dec. 16, 2015, incident, according to court documents.

Biddix, a 48-year-old from Sedro-Wolley, was charged with felony assault and misdemeanor eluding. He entered into a pretrial settlement agreement which stepped down the felony charge to attempted aggravated assault.

A plea agreement in the case also jettisoned a sentencing enhancement involving the use of a firearm during the commission of a crime, which would have tacked on a 15-year term to the sentence imposed on felony assault charge, court records indicate.

The charges stemmed from a traffic stop that evolved into a drunk-driving investigation. Biddix fled the traffic stop and was pursued to a residence where he allegedly leveled a rifle at Officer Ben Koester.

Koester vaulted a deck railing and took cover. Biddix engaged in a six-hour standoff with the Bonner County Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team before he either surrendered voluntarily or was compelled to surrender. Court documents shed no light on the circumstances of Biddix’s capture.

First District Judge Barbara Buchanan adopted the terms of the plea agreement, which called for a three-year suspended sentence with two years of probation. Biddix’s age and lack of a prior criminal history factored into the sentence, court records show.

Biddix was given credit for 152 days of pretrial incarceration but was denied a withheld judgment, which would have blotted the conviction from his record but not his arrest.