Roommate dispute ends with charges

SANDPOINT — A Sandpoint man is facing felony and misdemeanor charges for allegedly threatening his roommate with a knife and slashing his tires as retribution for being awoken in the early morning hours on Tuesday.

Brandon Emery Tyler is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and malicious injury to property. He made an initial appearance in Bonner County Magistrate Court on Wednesday via videoconferencing with the jail, although documents pertaining to his bail and legal representation were not immediately available.

The alleged victim, 19, told Sandpoint Police he accidentally awoke Tyler at approximately 3:30 a.m., which angered Tyler, according to a probable cause affidavit. The teen said Tyler entered his bedroom at around 4 a.m.. and pressed a knife to his forehead, the affidavit said.

Tyler, the police report said, fled the residence through a window and drove away from the residence in the 800 block of West Lake Street. A third roommate told police he heard yelling and loud arguing in the home before Tyler left.

Tyler, 26, returned to the home at approximately 7:25 a.m. and was questioned by police officers, who noted in the report that Tyler grew increasingly aggravated and was cursing and yelling at them. Tyler allegedly attempted to resist arrest, but officers subdued him, the report said. Tyler admitted to slashing the teen’s pickup truck tires because he was angry about being woken, the report said.

A preliminary hearing on the felony assault charge is scheduled for May 8 in magistrate court.

Tyler was charged with aggravated battery in 2017, but the charge was reduced to misdemeanor assault and disturbing peace, according to Idaho’s iCourt database.

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