CF man charged with violating no-contact order

Clark Fork resident Byron Ruen has been arrested again just weeks after being released from jail on a battery charge.

Ruen now faces additional charges for alleged violations of a no-contact order as well as another charge of battery and first-degree stalking.

On May 12, a Bonner County Sheriff’s deputy was dispatched for a report of a no contact order violation. Upon arrival, the alleged victim told the deputy that they had just arrived at the Monarch Market in Clark Fork when 34-year-old Ruen walked in and picked up their child, court records say. When the alleged victim told Ruen to put the baby down, he began yelling at her, according to the probable cause affidavit. Court records then alleged that he eventually complied and left on foot. The same thing happened the day before, on May 11, the individual told deputies.

“[They] stated [they] feel he is hanging out in town waiting for [them] to go to the [store] or [gas station], which [they do] daily, in an attempt to interact with [them],” the deputy wrote in the probable cause affidavit.

The alleged victim also told deputies that Ruen has been calling them multiple times a day from restricted numbers, court records said. During one phone call, the individual said Ruen told them “something to the effect of he wasn’t going to suffer repercussions for his continual violations of the courts protection/no contact orders,” according to court records.

When the deputy looked, he saw that a no contact order was issued by Bonner County Judge Lori Meulenburg on April 17, 2023, and remains in effect until April 17, 2024. He also discovered that Ruen had violated a separate no contact order on March 29 and 30, court records said. Because of this, the deputy requested a warrant be put out for Ruen’s arrest as he did not seem to be willing to obey the no contact order in place.

Before Ruen could be arrested, however, he again violated the no contact order against the alleged victim two more times in person and multiple times over the phone.

On June 6, the same alleged victim called deputies around 9 a.m. claiming they had received over 300 phone calls from a restricted number since the following evening, believing them all to be from Ruen, court records said. However, since no voicemails were left, deputies could not prove they were from him.

Later that same day, deputies received another call from the alleged victim claiming Ruen had again violated the no contact order while they were out to lunch. According to court records, the alleged victim said they had gone to a restaurant to get a burger when Ruen walked in just a few moments after they did, immediately causing a scene.

A few minutes later, he left, only to return again once they had received her food and sat down to eat it, the probable cause affidavit said. The individual told deputies over the phone that Ruen allegedly grabbed their food and thrown it, then grabbed them by the chin, screaming derogatory remarks in their face, according to court records.

While they were recounting the alleged incident, deputies reported in court records that they could hear a car honking in the background. The alleged victim told deputies Ruen had just driven by in the passenger seat of someone else’s car, aggressively honking the horn at them as he passed, court records said.

When deputies watched security footage, court records said the video corroborated what the alleged victim had described. In addition, deputies reported that the video showed Ruen getting into an argument with another customer at the restaurant, who at one point slapped Ruen across the face. In response, Ruen then grabbed the alleged victim’s food and threw it at the man who had slapped him.

When deputies found Ruen the next day, on June 7, Ruen denied touching the alleged victim at all, and if he had, he claimed he didn’t touch them hard enough to hurt them, court records said.

“When asked about him being in a fight the day prior, he told me it was what it was and asked about if he should press charges,” a deputy wrote in the probable cause affidavit.

Because a warrant had at this point been issued for his two prior no contact violations in May, the deputy arrested Ruen after he was done inquiring about the altercation, court records said.

“He did not believe he was doing anything wrong as he was just trying to be a daddy, as that is the only thing he is good at,” the deputy relayed via court records.

For his initial two no contact order violations, Ruen’s bail was set at $50,000 and has a jury trial set for July 17. Additionally, Ruen received three more charges for the restaurant incident: One no contact order violation and charges for battery and first degree stalking. He has a preliminary hearing for these three charges on June 21.