Police Don’t Go Far To Arrest Suspect

A Hayden Lake man was arrested on a charge of unlawful entry after he apparently tried to break into two police officers’ homes Friday night.

Dan L. Stewart, 26, was booked into the Kootenai County Jail and later bailed out.

It appears he did not realize he was trying to break into police officers’ homes. “He was completely out of it,” said Kootenai County Sheriff’s Capt. Ben Wolfinger.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Danly was asleep in his Hayden Lake home about 11:30 Friday when he heard someone attempt to open his front door, according to a sheriff’s report.

The door was locked and the person could not gain entry. Danly looked outside and saw a man running across his yard, according to his report.

Danly put his gun belt and sheriff’s coat on and tried to find the man. After several minutes of searching the neighborhood, a call came over the radio from Hayden Lake police officer Jason Felton’s nearby home.

Felton’s wife, home alone at the time, had called police after the man had walked into their home.

When both Danly and Felton arrived, Stewart - apparently highly intoxicated - was sitting at the kitchen table.

Cynde Felton said she had been lying on the couch watching television when she looked up and saw the stranger standing in the doorway. “Hi, I’m here,” he said to her, according to the report.

Frightened, she offered him a cup of coffee to keep him occupied until help arrived. , DataTimes