I-90 shooter indicted on 12 assault charges

An Arizona man who engaged police in a shootout on Interstate 90 near Post Falls was indicted by a Kootenai County grand jury on 12 counts of assault with intent to commit murder, the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday. Marcus Rael, of Glendale, Arizona, shot at police in the early morning hours of June 22 as he evaded attempts to pull him over on suspicion of driving under the influence near Coeur d’Alene. Rael exchanged gunfire with officers as he pulled off near the Spokane Street exit, heading west. Twelve officers — six Coeur d’Alene Police officers, three Post Falls Police officers, two Kootenai County sheriff’s deputies and one Idaho State Police trooper — exchanged gunfire with Rael, police said. All of the officers were placed on paid administrative leave and are still being investigated for use of force, police said Friday. The shootout closed the westbound lanes for most of the day while North Idaho’s Critical Incident Task Force, with oversight from the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office, collected evidence. No officers were injured. While police initially declined to give details of the exchange, Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler said last month that Rael fired first with one of two semi-automatic weapons found in his possession. Police said Rael had an FN 5.7 carbine rifle with a 50-round magazine and an AK-47 with a high-capacity drum magazine. Rael is being held at the Kootenai County jail on a $4 million bond.