‘Belligerent’ Nampa man rams car into liquor store, leaves ‘gaping hole,’ police say
A Nampa man was arrested Tuesday evening after allegedly striking an employee inside a liquor store before ramming his vehicle into the building’s facade, according to the Nampa Police Department.
Just before 8 p.m. Tuesday, an employee at a state liquor store in southwest Nampa called dispatch to report a “belligerent” customer, according to a news release. The employee said the customer had “battered” another employee and refused to leave the store.
“While on the phone with dispatch, the customer left the business, got into his vehicle, aggressively backed up and rammed into the front entry doors of the building,” the release said, leaving a “gaping hole” in the store.
Five people inside the store at the time were not injured, according to the release.
A witness reported the vehicle’s license plate and a description to police, and a 61-year-old suspect was located and arrested in the 200 block of West Greenhurst Road about 15 minutes later, said a Nampa police spokesperson, Carmen Boeger.
On Wednesday, the suspect was charged with five counts of felony aggravated assault, two counts of felony malicious injury to property, misdemeanor driving under the influence, misdemeanor battery, misdemeanor failure to notify authorities after striking fixtures on a highway and felony use of a deadly weapon in commission of a felony, according to court records.
Witnesses saw the suspect “strike objects after leaving the store, including another vehicle and landscape items,” the police news release said. Boeger said the deadly weapon enhancement charge likely was a result of the vehicle being rammed into the store.
Bond was set at $1 million, and the suspect has a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 26. He was still in the Canyon County jail as of Wednesday evening.
This story was originally published April 13, 2022 at 5:41 PM.
