Tactical parking brings end to pursuit

SANDPOINT — Tactical parking by a Sandpoint Police officer brought an abrupt end to a high-speed chase that morphed into a foot pursuit on Friday night.

Officer Heather Trumble was stationary at the corner of Division Avenue and Pine Street at approximately 9:34 p.m. when she observed a motorcycle being ridden without its headlight illuminated.

She attempted to pull the motorcyclist over, but the rider failed to yield as the pursuit segued from Pine Street to Jefferson Avenue and Cedar Street, where speeds reached 50 mph in a 25 mph zone, according to a probable cause affidavit. Speeds reached 60 mph after the chase moved onto Boyer, Larch and back onto Boyer, the affidavit said.

The rider, identified as Stephen Paul Hindsley, ultimately crashed at the corner of Spruce and Ella, but he took off running with another officer in pursuit.

Hindsley, 28, bolted down an alley and wound up on Chestnut Street with Officer Kale White in pursuit, the affidavit said. Trumble, meanwhile, repositioned her patrol vehicle to hem Hindsley in at Jefferson and Chestnut.

Hindsley, court documents indicate, was looking over his shoulder at his pursuer when he ran into the passenger door of the vehicle broadside, allowing White to apprehend him.

Hindlsey’s breath-alcohol concentration was measured at 0.18 and 0.17, well over the legal limit of 0.08, although he has not yet been charged for that crime, according to court documents. He is presently charged with eluding law enforcement at the felony level due to the disparity between his alleged rate of travel and the posted speed limits.

Hindsley made an initial appearance in Bonner County Magistrate Court on Monday, although information about his bail and legal counsel were not immediately available.

Hindsley served jail time for resisting law enforcement in 2016 and serve time in prison for a 2015 felony drug conviction, online court records indicate.

A preliminary hearing in the case is set for June 27.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.