Man Charged With Aggravated Assault

A Boundary County sheriff’s sergeant and his alleged assailant remained in satisfactory condition Friday at a Bonners Ferry hospital.

Fred Johnson, 47, of Sandpoint, has been charged with aggravated assault, said Mike Weland, county spokesman. Johnson was wounded in the buttocks during an exchange of gunfire Thursday afternoon at Twin Rivers Canyon Campground.

Sheriff’s Sgt. George Voyles and deputy Mark Strangio were met with gunfire when they arrived at the campground to investigate a suspicious persons complaint, Weland said. The officers confronted a man who held a shotgun in one hand and a Bible in the other.

Weland said Johnson fired a shotgun blast at Voyles, hitting the sheriff’s deputy in both upper thighs.

Strangio returned fire once and Johnson fled. Officers arrested Johnson a short time later in the Moyie River, Weland said.

Both wounded men were taken to Community Hospital in Bonners Ferry. It was not clear how long either will remain hospitalized.

Officers from the state Criminal Investigations Bureau are investigating the shooting, the Boundary County Sheriff’s Department said. It was not known what prompted the shotgun blast that injured Voyles, Weland said.

Voyles worked as a Shoshone County sheriff’s deputy before joining the Boundary department.

Strangio moved to the county several months ago. He was not injured in the exchange, but has taken a few days off to recover from the incident.