PR woman arrested on vandalism charges

PRIEST RIVER — A 76-year-old Priest River woman was arrested late last month on charges of malicious injury to property after police alleged she potentially committed a trespass violation.

On Sept. 27, Priest River Police received calls about a woman who had allegedly been trespassed from an apartment. Police arrived on scene and called the alleged victim from the parking lot. The caller told police that the woman had come to their door and banged on it, repeatedly calling the residents “pedophiles.”

“While talking to [the alleged victim] on the phone, [the woman] came out of her apartment with a knife in her hand and I witnessed [her] begin to stab the [alleged victim’s] tires,” an officer wrote in the probable cause affidavit.

The officer advised the caller to remain inside as he was unsure how the woman would react to being confronted by police. Court records contend that the officer drew his taser and positioned himself behind a car to act as a buffer. The woman — later identified as Susan Bruno — complied with the officer’s demands to drop the knife and was detained without physical incident.

“Bruno made numerous unfounded claims about sexual abuse having to do with the [alleged victim] and myself while I arrested and transported Bruno to the Bonner County Jail,” the officer wrote in the probable cause affidavit.

The damage Bruno allegedly caused to the tires is estimated to be roughly $1,100, according to court records. Bruno was charged with one count of felony malicious injury to property. No bail or bond information was posted and a hearing is scheduled for Nov. 11.