Man arrested in burglary

A man in search of painkillers was in jail Friday night after he wielded a gun and possibly a hammer when breaking into a Coeur d’Alene man’s house, police said.

Brent D. Cloutier, 27, broke into a man’s house on North Kaleigh Court about 4:20 p.m. looking for OxyContin pills, said Coeur d’Alene police spokeswoman Sgt. Christie Wood.

The two men knew each other, but Cloutier allegedly came at the victim with brass knuckles. The victim was able to get away and grabbed two steak knives and retreated to a porch, Wood said.

Cloutier followed him out to a balcony and displayed a gun and what witnesses described as a hammer, according to police. He then fled.

Shortly after 7 p.m., police found Cloutier leaving the front door of a house near his own home and arrested him. He faces charges of robbery, burglary and aggravated assault.