Shootout Suspect Already Facing Prison Schorzman Was Never Sentenced On Three Convictions

A Coeur d’Alene man who led police on a daylong manhunt that locked down several schools could have been sent to prison last year.

Martin A. Schorzman, 40, was scheduled to appear before a Kootenai County judge last year on charges of possession of methamphetamine, but he never appeared in court.

“It’s always been our recommendation that he serve time in the Idaho State Penitentiary,” Kootenai County Prosecutor Bill Douglas said. “It’s very frustrating.”

Schorzman has also failed to show for three other felony sentencings after posting bail.

He is now being held in the Kootenai County Jail, where he was on a suicide watch, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Capt. Ben Wolfinger said. Bond was set at $275,000 bail.

First District Magistrate Barry Watson on Thursday set bail for Schorzman, who also had outstanding warrants for petit theft, domestic violence and failure to appear.

Schorzman will appear before a Kootenai County judge today on charges ranging from obstructing officers to grand theft, Wolfinger said.

More charges against Schorzman could come from Benewah County Prosecutor Doug Payne today.

Payne was in Boise on Thursday for a state prosecutors convention.

Schorzman was in the Kootenai County Jail as recently as last summer on drug and battery charges.

On July 20, he was arrested on charges of eluding arrest, battery and carrying an invalid driver’s license. He was released five days later after posting a $22,500 bond.

Schorzman’s criminal history began in 1978 and includes eight convictions and numerous charges of domestic violence and possession of a controlled substance.

His convictions include three charges of failure to purchase a driver’s licence, one charge of hunting out of season, drunken driving, damaging a jail, battery and violating a protection order. He also was convicted of two counts of possession of methamphetamine.

According to court records, Schorzman still owes $1,794.50 on several unpaid fines.

“I don’t think there’s a prosecutor or judge in Kootenai County that doesn’t know this defendant,” Douglas said.

Schorzman’s most recent brush with the law began Tuesday, when he and Elton Joe Roberts allegedly stole two gallons of anhydrous ammonia from a Whitman County, Wash., farmer.

Later that evening, two men opened fire on an Idaho Fish and Game officer who unwittingly stopped to help what he thought were motorists in distress in rural Benewah County.

The officer was uninjured and returned several shots at the men before they fled on foot into the nearby woods, Benewah County deputies said.

Roberts, 22, was arrested that night. Schorzman was arrested at a Coeur d’Alene apartment near Lakes Middle School on Wednesday.

“He’s due,” ISP Capt. Wayne Longo said of Schorzman facing a prison sentence. “He’s way past due.”

Roberts, of Athol, faced charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and trafficking methamphetamine. Roberts was convicted of lewd conduct with a minor in 1998 and is a registered sex offender.

He has faced numerous charges of battery, petit theft, domestic battery and possession of controlled substance.

He has outstanding warrants in Kootenai County for his arrest for parole violation, grand theft and possession of methamphetamine.

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