Man in custody after chase

After being shot by a deputy Wednesday morning, a recent transplant from California hopped into his pickup – with a U-Haul car-towing trailer still hooked to the hitch – and led police on a chase that ended near Kellogg.

Victor Leon Jr., 30, was arrested after the 40-minute chase and treated for a gunshot wound to his chest, according to a statement issued by Kootenai County Sheriff’s Capt. Ben Wolfinger. Leon also was hit by two beanbag rounds before police took him into custody.

But his injuries appear to have been minor: Just hours after the bloodied suspect was arrested and taken to the hospital, he was posing for his mugshot at the Kootenai County Jail, wearing a bandage on his chest, and a grin.

Leon is expected to make his first appearance today on one count of aggravated assault to a police officer and felony eluding. It’s not yet known if Leon has a criminal record, Wolfinger said.

The incident began at 9:45 a.m., when a sheriff’s deputy responded to a report of a violent domestic dispute at 11877 Kelly Rae Dr., north of Hayden, according to sheriff’s records. Within minutes of the deputy’s arrival, Leon is accused of trying to ram the police cruiser and then the deputy with his full-sized Dodge pickup truck.

The deputy then fired at Leon, hitting him at least once in the upper torso. Wolfinger said department policy prevented him from releasing the deputy’s name until the incident has been reviewed by an outside law enforcement agency.

Leon had moved to Kootenai County from California earlier this week, possibly Monday, investigators said. A car towing device was still hooked to his pickup as he raced from the house, with police in pursuit. Leon reached speeds of 65 mph in 25 mph zones in Hayden, Dalton Gardens and Coeur d’Alene.

Officers from across the region converged on Coeur d’Alene, trying to block him. Strips of steel spikes were placed on the road in at least three locations in the city, but Leon swerved around them. Coeur d’Alene High School was briefly locked down during the pursuit, which passed in front of the school shortly before 10 a.m.

Once on Interstate 90, he slowed and drove east at speeds between 50 and 65 mph. In some places, Leon drove down the interstate median to avoid sets of spikes.

By this point, Shoshone County Sheriff Chuck Reynalds had been notified. He had deputies and spike strips waiting at the county line. Leon, shot and bleeding, steered his truck around at least two other sets of spikes. Deputies scrambled to place the tire-shredding devices at all exits.

“The only exit we failed to block was Exit 51,” Reynalds said. “He took that one.”

Leon finally stopped his truck near Kellogg, about a mile south of I-90. He refused to leave the vehicle, so deputies broke the windows and fired two shotgun beanbags at Leon, Reynalds said.

Still, he didn’t appear ready to surrender, Reynalds said. “He came out when we drug him out.”

Reynalds said Leon was bleeding from wounds to his chest and arm when he was taken into custody and transported to Shoshone Medical Center.