Accomplice of man killed by trooper indicted

An Idaho man faces six months in federal prison for allegedly beating a state trooper during a traffic stop that led to a fatal shooting.

Ricardo D. Rodriguez, 39, of Culdesac, appeared today in U.S. District Court in Coeur d’Alene on a misdemeanor assault charge. He’s been in federal custody since early this week.

A grand jury indicted him in May, one year after Trooper Jeffory Talbott shot and killed Vern Ellenwood and injured Rodriguez.

The men attacked Talbott after fleeing a traffic stop on May 18, 2009, on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Rodriguez was a passenger in Ellenwood’s truck.

Talbott was cleared of wrongdoing.

Rodriguez’s bail hearing is set for Tuesday.