Coeur d’Alene woman shoots and kills self during drug traffic stop

A 30-year-old Coeur d’Alene woman shot and killed herself Friday during a traffic stop in the city involving an alleged narcotics dealer.

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office and Coeur d’Alene Police Department pulled a vehicle over Friday afternoon on Seltice Way near Atlas Road, according to the sheriff’s office. Wyatt Warnken, 31, of Post Falls, was a passenger in the vehicle and the alleged drug dealer.

Warnken was arrested without incident. While authorities were detaining the driver, deputies and officers heard a gunshot come from the vehicle. Authorities approached the vehicle and found a passenger had shot herself. Medics rendered aid before she was taken to the hospital and died.

Sheriff’s office detectives handled the shooting investigation, while the agency’s Special Investigations Unit detectives booked Warnken into the Kootenai County Jail on suspicion of trafficking methamphetamine, possession with intent to deliver fentanyl, delivery of methamphetamine and fentanyl, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.