Police Surround Store Before Arresting Man

Officers from three police agencies spent more than an hour surrounding a department store Thursday as they attempted to arrest a suspected drug dealer.

Officers were told Cleve S. Sampson Jr., 30, of San Bernardino, Calif., may be armed with a laser-sighted .45-caliber handgun when he walked into Shopko on Ironwood Drive.

However, officers were able to arrest the unarmed Sampson shortly after 5 p.m. without incident.

Sampson was wanted on methamphetamine manufacturing and trafficking warrants out of San Bernardino.

He has a history of kidnapping, assault and drug trafficking, authorities said.

Sampson and a female friend arrived at ShopKo about 3:45 p.m., followed by sheriff’s deputies. Coeur d’Alene police and state narcotics officers helped surround the building, some in unmarked cars and plain clothes.

Sheriff Pierce Clegg and another officers slipped inside through a back door and watched Sampson through security cameras.

“He was really, really paranoid,” Clegg said, explaining that Sampson kept darting around, checking the aisles and peering out of the store.

Meanwhile, shoppers continued their business, unaware of what was going on.

“We didn’t want to take him in ShopKo,” Clegg said, explaining that there were too many people in the way. “You always fear the hostage situation.”

Because the parking lot was also crowded, officers allowed Sampson and his friend, Melody Cook, to leave the store and drive away.

Sampson drove to the Denny’s restaurant on Fourth Street, where officers arrested him in the parking lot. Although they found ammunition in the pickup truck Sampson was driving, they did not find a weapon.

, DataTimes