Man arrested in Meridian for meth, brandishing knife at driver and interrupting school

David Criss, 43, was arrested shortly after noon Tuesday near Meridian Elementary School after a woman reported a man “bolted in front of her car” and pulled out a locked-blade pocket knife, Meridian Deputy Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea said.

The woman braked to avoid hitting the man, who then said something similar to “you should have run me over," rummaged around in nearby garbage cans and walked toward the school, Basterrechea said.

The driver followed him and called police, telling them where to find the man. He reportedly stopped briefly to lean on a fence outside the school, where children were on lunch break, Basterrechea said.

“We put them (students) in shelter in place, but it only lasted a few minutes,” he said, noting that officers found Criss sitting on a curb at Washington and Northwest First streets and arrested him without incident. The school is located at 1035 NW 1st near downtown Meridian.

Police found methamphetamine and paraphernalia on Criss, and they recovered a knife matching the description of the brandished knife from the garbage cans where the man reportedly was rummaging after he walked away from the driver, Basterrechea said.

Criss appeared to be under the influence of methamphetamine and was evaluated by paramedics before he was taken to the Ada County Jail, the deputy chief said.

Criss faces charges of aggravated assault, possession of methemphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, interupting the education process and pedestrian under the influence, Basterrechea said.

This story was originally published March 14, 2017 at 2:21 PM with the headline "Man arrested in Meridian for meth, brandishing knife at driver and interrupting school."