Evaluation Ordered For Prisoner Schorzman Charged With Escape, Attempted Murder After Attack On Deputy

A man accused of beating up a Kootenai County jailer and running from police faces an attempted murder charge, but first he must undergo mental evaluations, a Kootenai County judge said Wednesday.

Martin A. Schorzman, 40, will have to undergo evaluations by the state Health and Welfare Department before being sentenced on two unrelated methamphetamine charges, 1st District Judge James Judd said.

Schorzman was charged Wednesday with two more serious crimes - escape and attempted first-degree murder.

Bail for those two crimes was set at $500,000.

Mental evaluations must be complete before all other cases continue, Judd said.

Schorzman appeared almost catatonic while sitting in court. Members of his family sat in the back of the courtroom, some crying.

Schorzman is accused of beating up Kootenai County deputy William Danish on Tuesday afternoon.

Danish was watching three inmates in holding cells at the Kootenai County Courthouse. Schorzman was being held for a 3 p.m. sentencing on meth charges.

Schorzman kept complaining to Danish that his leg shackles were too tight. Danish said he told Schorzman to sit down, according to police reports.

Schorzman said, “I can’t. These hurt too bad.”

Danish said he then locked away his weapon, hid the key and told Schorzman to spread his feet and turn around.

Danish entered Schorzman’s cell to adjust the shackles.

Schorzman quickly spun around and wrapped a waist chain around the jailer’s neck and started to choke him, the report says.

The jailer poked Schorzman in the eye to try to get away, but Schorzman knocked him to the ground and continued to choke him, the report says.

Schorzman said something like, “About now I got ya cop,” Danish recalled in the report.

Schorzman then hit Danish in the face and started kicking him. He ripped off the microphone cord on the jailer’s radio and sprayed Danish with his own pepper spray.

Schorzman then stole Danish’s keys and tried to get out of the cell. Danish then kicked Schorzman, who made it outside of the cell and slammed it shut, the report said.

Eventually Danish made it to a phone to call for help. He was then taken to Kootenai Medical Center, where doctors said he had a crushed trachea.

About 20 minutes later, police tracked down Schorzman hiding on the front porch of a vacant home near Sixth and Foster Avenue.

He was arrested and taken back to jail.

Kootenai County prosecutors charged Schorzman with escape and attempted first-degree murder.

“We understand that deputy suffered some very serious injuries, ” Prosecutor Bill Douglas said. “Extreme force was used.”

It’s not unusual for a mental evaluation to take a couple of weeks, said Chief Deputy Prosecutor Lansing Haynes.

Schorzman also is accused of shooting at a state Fish and Game officer. He was arrested Feb. 9 after a daylong manhunt.