Man jailed on assault charges

BLANCHARD — A Washington state man has been arrested for threatening three people with a pistol during a confrontation at Stoneridge Resort last Tuesday night.

Steven James Baergen is charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He made an initial appearance in Bonner County Magistrate Court on Monday via videoconferencing with the county jail, although minutes from the hearing were not immediately available.

One of the alleged victims told sheriff’s deputies that he was summoned to the resort after Baergen abandoned his ex-wife and his child on the roadside, a deputy’s affidavit said. He found his ex-wife and teenage child hiding in the bushes before being confronted by Baergen, who is the woman’s current boyfriend. He told deputies that Baergen drove up to him in an aggressive manner, loaded a pistol and pointed it closely his face, according to the affidavit. Baergen then allegedly trained the gun on the man’s ex-wife and her 15-year-old son.

All three fled in a vehicle and the man told deputies he heard gunshots and saw muzzle flash as they sped away, the affidavit said. 10-millimeter shell casings were discovered in the roadway at Chatwold and Hanaford roads. A witness reported hearing gunshots, the affidavit said.

Baergen, a 39-year-old Spokane resident, admitted being involved in a confrontation with his girlfriend’s ex-husband, but painted him as the aggressor and denied that a firearm was involved in the altercation, according to the affidavit. Baergen was also unwilling to return to Bonner County to answer to the charges, although that unwillingness was overcome by an arrest warrant on Friday, court records show.

A preliminary hearing in the case is pending.

Aggravated battery is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

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