Accused vandal floods City Hall

SANDPOINT — A day before crashing his vehicle during a police pursuit in Ponderay, a Bonner County man caused flooding at City Hall that resulted in damages of $12,000, according to court documents.

James R. Kerrigan is charged with malicious injury to property at the felony level because the damage exceeded $1,000.

Kerrigan, 40, turned up at the Sandpoint Police Department on Sept. 15 to report that he had damaged a public bathroom at Safeway, according to a probable cause affidavit. When an officer went to meet Kerrigan in the lobby, the officer heard water spraying and water flooding the offices.

The source of the water was a pipe on wall that had been damaged, the affidavit said. Kerrigan was found face down outside the building and taken to Bonner General Health for an evaluation.

Video surveillance footage showed Kerrigan speaking with a dispatcher through a phone line. Kerrigan allegedly stood up, evaluates the pipe and stomped it, causing it to break and leave more than 2 inches of standing water in the offices, the affidavit said.

A preliminary hearing in the case is set for Sept. 26.

The day after the episode at City Hall, Kerrigan is accused of leading a sheriff’s deputy on a pursuit on U.S. Highway 95 in a cab-over recreational vehicle. The RV was reportedly being driven recklessly on Upper Pack River Road, according to court documents.

Kerrigan allegedly failed to yield to the officer’s lights and siren and crashed into vehicles waiting on a traffic light at Schweitzer Cutoff Road. Kerrigan and another motorist were injured in the collision, resulting in a felony eluding charge. Kerrigan was also charged with battery on a law officer for allegedly trying to bite a deputy’s leg and spitting toilet water into the deputy’s face, court documents indicate.

Kerrigan blamed the incident at Safeway on a manic episode, according to the affidavit.

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