A man has been arrested and charged with domestic battery in Hayden as well as a number of other offenses. The arrest for domestic battery in Hayden occurred after a dramatic standoff with the authorities. The incident occurred on the night of Saturday, July 3.
According to the details shared by the authorities, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office received reports of an incident of domestic violence at an address on the Runkle Road. The reports were received just after 8 p.m. on Saturday.
The deputies responded to these reports and arrived on the scene. Upon arrival, they learned that the suspect had battered a female and then attempted to strangle her. However, the female was able to escape and ran to a neighbor’s home from where she reported the incident.
The KCSO deputies then tried to contact the suspect who was still in the neighboring house. He was identified by the deputies as Mark R. Spurgeon, 59. Spurgeon initially came out of the house when contacted by the deputies. However, he later ran back into the house and barricaded himself inside.
This initiated a standoff between Spurgeon and the authorities which lasted for several hours. The deputies made several PA announcements and also used phone calls to persuade Spurgeon to surrender. When these efforts failed, the Joint Agency SWAT Team of the Kootenai County was called upon to resolve the standoff.
The suspect was finally taken into custody at around 12:50 a.m. An arrest warrant was also obtained. Following his arrest, Spurgeon was charged with Attempted Strangulation and Felony Domestic Battery. He was also taken to the Kootenai Health for a mental evaluation.
For Boise cases like these, mental health issues can sometimes be a viable defense to domestic battery allegations. A Boise aggravated assault and battery lawyer can help put up a solid defense in cases like these.