BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho sheriff who is facing felony charges after confronting a group of girls and their chaperone with a gun outside his home last month has been ordered to turn over his firearms to Idaho State Police until the criminal case is wrapped up.
Bingham County Sheriff Craig Rowland is charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assualt, and exhibition of a deadly weapon in connection to the Nov. 9 incident.
According to investigators, the youth group, made up of girls ages 12 to 16, visited the sheriff's home in Blackfoot that evening as part of a Thanksgiving activity in which they delivered paper "thankful turkeys" with notes of gratitude to different community members.
The girls had been taping the thank you notes to the recipients' doors, knocking or ringing the bell, then running away before the people inside could see who left the turkey.
After they rang Rowland's doorbell and ran back to their group leader's car, investigators say, Ring doorbell footage captured the sheriff stepping outside, looking at the turkey cutout, and reading the thank you message printed on it aloud before calling to his wife to bring him his gun.
As the chaperone was driving away, Rowland waved down her car, then pointed his handgun at her and at two girls sitting in her front passenger seat, according to a probable cause affidavit. The sheriff then grabbed the woman by the hair and pulled her out of the vehicle, put a gun up to her forehead, and threatened to shoot her, investigators say.
Prosecutor Jeffery Nye said the seven girls in the car and their youth group leader all gave the same account of what happened. Rowland also told Blackfoot Police Chief Scott Gay that he had "really screwed up" and admitted to law enforcement that he had grabbed the woman by her hair and demonstrated holding the gun to her head.
The doorbell camera footage of Rowland reading the thank you note - and an earlier clip where he came outside to see two girls running away from his door after a failed attempt to leave the 'thankful turkey' - prove the sheriff did not believe he was in any danger, Nye said.
"That is significant to the state because it shows that the defendant's conduct that night was not based on a misunderstanding, and it was not based on anything that could be perceived as a threat in any way," he said.
The prosecution asked Judge Faren Eddins to rule that Rowland must turn in his firearms and remain on leave as county sheriff until the case is finished, arguing that allowing Rowland to continue working as the top law enforcement officer in the county while facing felony charges could undermine the integrity of the court process.
"Any person who responds to that kind of harmless conduct, that is well-intentioned on its face, by equipping himself with a gun, leaving his property, and initiating an extremely dangerous and potentially-deadly confrontation is a risk to safety, at least as long as he has access to firearms or is serving in a position that is high-stakes and high stress," Nye said.
Rowland's attorney, Justin Oleson, strongly objected, arguing that it was not legal to strip the defendant of his elected position or his constitutional right to have a gun. Oleson also said the charges were politically motivated and suggested that an investigator had included Rowland's remarks about being on edge because of "drunk Indians" from the nearby reservation in his report in an attempt to hurt the sheriff's career.
The defense attorney argued that the statement was "taken out of context" and "has inflamed a portion of the population" after receiving national attention.
"This is purely political," Oleson said. "All the Attorney General is trying to do is remove Mr. Rowland from his position."
The Shoshone-Bannock tribe has called for Rowland to resign, slamming his remarks as racist and "extremely offensive."
Judge Eddins ordered Rowland to turn over his guns to Idaho State Police while the case is pending, but stopped short of ordering him to remain on leave.
"He has a right to stay on a leave of absence if that is what he wants to do; he also has the right to work," the judge said. "That being said, if he is working, he will be required to abide by all the conditions of release, including but not limited to that no-contact order, and including but not limited to not having access to any firearms."
Currently, a no-contact order is in place between the sheriff and all members of the youth group. After dispute between the attorneys about how many of those girls' parents actually wanted a no-contact order, Eddins told the prosecution to reach out to each victim to find out their preference. The judge will quash no-contact orders for those who say they do not want them in place, he said.
A preliminary hearing in the case is set for Jan. 26.
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