Armed, intoxicated man arrested after fleeing from deputies
AMMON, Idaho (KIFI) - A Bonneville County Sheriff’s deputy observed a vehicle driving across multiple lanes of traffic and exceeding the speed limit Sunday afternoon on Ammon Road near 17th St.
The deputy initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle as it pulled into the parking lot between Walgreens and Ace Hardware.
The male driver stopped the vehicle and exited on foot, running away from the deputy and into traffic.
The deputy ran after the man, giving his description to area patrol units as he ran across 17th St. toward storage units and residences on S. Ammon Road.
The deputy briefly lost sight of the suspect but was directed to a nearby garage by a witness who saw him go inside.
As more deputies arrived, they were able to search the garage and locate the suspect hiding inside, identifying him as 30 -year-old Marcuse Jose Rodriguez of Idaho Falls.
Rodriguez was taken into custody and admitted to deputies on scene he had been drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana.
After a K-9 indicated to the presence of illegal drugs, deputies located a small amount of marijuana in Rodriguez’s vehicle along with a white unknown powder substance believed to possibly contain fentanyl.
Deputies also located drug paraphernalia, a handgun and a shotgun that had been significantly modified and cut down to a shorter length at the barrel and stock.
A check of criminal history records found Rodriguez had a pending charge of felony driving under the influence (DUI) from January and previous convictions of DUI and Aggravated DUI.
Deputies obtained a search warrant to retrieve a sample of Rodriguez’s blood at the hospital as part of the DUI investigation.
Rodriguez was then transported to the Bonneville County Jail and booked on felony charges of 3rd offense DUI, unlawful entry and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Rodriguez was also booked on misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest, possession of a firearm while under the influence, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Deputies are continuing to investigate and further charges relating to the unknown powder substance are pending results from lab testing.
