Stabbing suspect arrested near Coeur d’Alene

Police today arrested a convicted killer accused of trying to kill another man in a stabbing Monday night north of Coeur d’Alene. James H. Kountz, 56, was arrested about 5:40 p.m. in the same wooded area near U.S. Highway 95 and Wilbur Avenue where he stabbed another transient, James R. Hoglen, 42, on Monday. Kountz has a long criminal history that includes an involuntary manslaughter conviction in California. He was originally arrested for murder in 1989, said Sgt. Christie Wood, spokeswoman for the Coeur d’Alene Police Department. Kountz has amassed arrests from traveling all over the United States, Wood said. He’s been in the Coeur d’Alene area for about a year. Wood said police have arrested him three times for aggravated battery and contacted him several other times for trespassing. “Numerous businesses have called and said ‘get him out of here,’” Wood said. “He really is a menace.” He faces a charge of attempted second-degree murder for Monday’s assault. Police closed a portion of U.S. Highway 95 that night as a helicopter and police dog helped police search for Kountz. Hoglen, who is from Reno, Nev., was stabbed in his upper torso and once in his face. He is in stable condition at Kootenai Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. The North Idaho Violent Crimes Task Force located Kountz.