Angry Words Preceded Bullets The Fight Stemmed From A Burglary Reported A Day Earlier.

An angry Terry Lloyd Smith wanted only to stop the man he believed had burglarized his home and turn him over to authorities. Instead, a Wednesday afternoon confrontation turned into a deadly gunbattle on a Bonner County back road.

Smith, 39, and the suspected burglar, Jason Anthony Esquibel, 25, of Ontario, Ore., shot each other dead on a dusty gravel road.

As authorities continue to unravel details of the double murder, they say it’s unlikely anyone will be charged with a crime.

“As far as we can tell right now, there has been no crime committed by a living person,” Bonner County Sheriff Chip Roos said.

Smith was headed to the post office Wednesday afternoon with his common-law wife. Their two children were riding in the back of their pickup.

Smith met Esquibel driving up Where It’s At Road, about 26 miles southwest of Sandpoint in a small town called Clagstone.

Authorities said Esquibel was dropping off his girlfriend, Melissa Hiett, 20, who lives with the Smiths. They did not know whether he had been staying in North Idaho.

Roos said the two men had weapons and were arguing on the road when Smith apparently hit Esquibel with the butt of his high-powered hunting rifle.

“Esquibel panicked and fired two shots at Smith with a .22-caliber pistol and got back in his car,” Roos said. “Smith shot back and killed him right where he sat.”

Esquibel was hit once in the side and once in the throat. Another man staying at Smith’s home, Alfred Anthony, 42, saw the exchange of gunfire and tried to help, Roos said.

Anthony fired an AK-47 rifle at Esquibel, but missed.

“It looks like he just blew the window out of the car,” Roos said. “What we found so far indicates the two men shot and killed each other. The third man wasn’t really involved except for trying to help his friend.”

Anthony and Hiett were detained Wednesday for questioning and later released.

Smith was shot twice in the torso, but was able to get back into his pickup. His wife drove him eight miles down the gravel road to U.S. Highway 95. She hollered at a neighbor along the way to call for help.

Smith died in the truck.

Roos said the fight stemmed from a burglary Smith reported a day earlier. When Esquibel came to pick up his girlfriend that day, he stole 900 rounds of ammunition and destroyed a gun safe, Smith claimed.

Some stolen items were found in Esquibel’s car while detectives searched it and the house Thursday. The .22-caliber pistol Esquibel used was also found in his car.

“Basically this whole thing started because Smith was angry he got ripped off,” Roos said. “The only thing that went wrong was he lost his temper and hit the guy with the butt of his gun and got shot.”

The deaths are still under investigation and autopsies on the two men will be performed today.

“If everything continues to check out as it has we won’t have a major crime to take to trial,” Roos said.

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