Bingham Sheriff court appearance moved to next week
BLACKFOOT, Idaho (KIFI) - Bingham County Sheriff Craig Rowland's first court hearing was postponed a week after his attorney asked to have the hearing in-person instead of over Zoom.
Rowland is charged with aggravated battery and assault and exhibiting a deadly weapon.
Rowland did not appear in Wednesday's hearing as the motion was made to Magistrate Judge Faren Eddins.
Rowland's attorney Justin Oleson requested to have the hearing in-person. "We don't want any jury pool to have a potential prejudice because of the media attention this has gathered, which can increase, because of live-streaming," said Oleson.
Judge Eddin's approved the request and scheduled a hearing for Dec. 29 at 10 a.m. at the Bingham County Courthouse. The judge also issued a no-contact order between Roland and the alleged victims.
This is in connection to an incident involving a church youth group last month detailed in court documents.
In a 10-page affidavit, investigators with the Attorney General's Office outline the events that led to charges against Sheriff Craig Rowland.
In an interview with the sheriff, he said he had just let his dog out and saw two people near his garage and that startled him.
It states a church youth group was dropping off "thankful turkeys" - an arts and craft project - to their neighbors. It says, "The girls would deliver the “thankful turkeys” by taping it on the door, ringing the doorbell, and running away before anyone knew who had delivered it." The group had delivered most of them before arriving at the sheriff's home.
The leader of the youth group - Chelsea Cox - dropped the girls off and parked at the end of the cul-de-sac, but says when the girls realized the sheriff was home, they ran away before trying again. Shortly after, Rowland said he heard his front screen door open and a knock. That's when he asked his wife to grab his gun and went outside.
Cox says as she drove away, the sheriff flagged her down with the gun in his other hand. She stopped the car and attempted to get out.
In the report, both the sheriff and Cox describe him pulling her out of the car by her hair and asking her "Who the 'f' are you and what are you doing here." That's when Cox identifies herself and tells him she is his neighbor who has lived next door to him for years.
Both accounts also describe the sheriff pointing a gun at Cox's head and Rowland saying he could shoot her.
There were seven minors in the car whose statements also line up with what was detailed by the sheriff and Cox.
Several community leaders have asked the Sheriff to resign because of the incident and remarks he made towards members of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe reported in the affidavit.
