Landowner charged in trespass incident

A Coeur d’Alene man was arrested Tuesday evening after allegedly driving his Chevy Tahoe into an ATV carrying two men and threatening to shoot them for trespassing on his property.

Thomas M. Pehlke, 46, is being held at the Kootenai County Jail on $50,000 bail on two felony charges of aggravated assault and related misdemeanor charges.

Pehlke called the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department around 8 p.m. Tuesday to report that people were trespassing on his property near Coeur d’Alene.

Sheriff’s Deputy Chuck Sciortino said in his report that he told Pehlke he couldn’t respond to the call because of “personnel constraints” and that Pehlke shouldn’t confront anyone who came on his property.

Two hours later, 28-year-old Nicholas J. Knaack and 24-year-old Joseph Paul Jennings Jr. called and said Pehlke had assaulted them.

The men said they were riding on an ATV when Pehlke told them they were trespassing and needed to leave, according to the report. Jennings told the deputy that he raised his hand and said OK.

Jennings said they continued to drive down the road to find a spot wide enough to turn around. As they drove past Pehlke, he allegedy drove his SUV into the side of the ATV, hitting Knaack’s leg, the report said.

Knaack told Sciortino that they accelerated the ATV in an attempt to keep from being run over by Pehlke, who then allegedly got out of his truck and pointed a gun at the two men.

The two men told Sciortino that they put their hands in the air and pleaded for their lives.

When Sciortino interviewed Pehlke, he said he had been having problems with trespassers and had a “No Tresspassing” sign posted, according to the deputy’s report. Pehlke told Sciortino that he had swerved in an attempt not to hit the ATV and only pulled his gun after seeing firearms strapped to the trailer of the ATV.

Pehlke said he didn’t threaten the men but was in fear for his own safety.

Jennings and Knaack said they did not know the property was privately owned and had used the road in the past to access Forest Service land. They told Sciortino that it was dark, and they didn’t see no trespassing signs.