Judge Orders Trial For Ex-Husband In Attacks With Ax Suspect Previously Violated Ex-Wife’s Restraining Order
Thumping noises outside the bedroom window woke Jarrod Schaper about midnight on Christmas Eve.
He pulled open the blinds to investigate and an ax crashed through both panes of glass.
“As soon as he saw me, he took the ax and swung it at me,” Schaper said Tuesday.
The attacker, who also smashed up Schaper’s pickup, left before police arrived. When police left, he returned with the ax and threatened Schaper from the front porch.
On Tuesday, Magistrate John Luster ordered Christopher M. Huckaby, 24, to stand trial for the attack and vandalism. The Post Falls man is charged with aggravated assault and malicious injury to property. Both felonies carry possible five-year prison sentences.
Court records show Huckaby has been charged three times with violating a restraining order Amanda Huckaby, his ex-wife, obtained against him. He has previously been charged with battering her.
Amanda Huckaby, 23, is Schaper’s girlfriend.
Christopher Huckaby is being held in the Kootenai County Jail on a $20,000 bond. His public defender argued Tuesday prosecutors did not offer enough evidence linking Huckaby to the crimes.
However, Schaper identified Huckaby as his attacker.
“As soon as the blinds went up he swung at me,” Schaper said.
Terrified, the 30-year-old Schaper said he ducked and covered his head. Crumbling glass showered him.
Schaper jumped over the bed, pulled his girlfriend into the hallway and ran to the kitchen to get a knife.
Slowly he crept back into the bedroom clutching the knife. Amanda Huckaby called 911.
A car door slammed outside and a green Mazda Protege drove away.
A Rathdrum police officer who arrived a few minutes later discovered the damage to Schaper’s 1996 Ford Ranger pickup, which was parked in the driveway.
The driver’s side window was shattered. The windshield bore a hole where someone apparently had plunged an ax through it.
About 1:30 a.m., Schaper decided to take another look at the damage to his pickup. He reached for the front door knob and heard feet shuffle on the front porch.
Schaper pulled back the blinds next to the door. The man with the ax was back.
“He said, ‘Come out here so I can kill you,”’ Schaper said.
Schaper grabbed an aluminum bat out of a nearby closet. Amanda Huckaby called police again.
Moments later, Schaper heard a door slam. This time a two-tone Chevy Blazer sped away.
Police found the back and passenger windows on Schaper’s pickup smashed. The hood had a large dent and the tires were punctured. Damage was estimated at more than $2,500.
, DataTimes