Local man arrested for assault

SANDPOINT — A Moyie Springs man was arrested Saturday on allegations that he pointed a semiautomatic rifle at a family during an apparent road rage incident on U.S. Highway 95.

Jacob Billy Joseph Mutter is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a trace amount of methamphetamine.

He made an initial appearance on Monday in Bonner County Magistrate Court via video link from the jail.

Judge Debra Heise set his bail at $15,000 and appointed a public defender to represent him, court records show.

A motorist told a sheriff’s deputy that he was hauling a boat when the engine cover flew off and landed on the highway and was run over by a vehicle in which Mutter was a passenger, a probable cause affidavit said.

Mutter, 22, and driver Kira Leann Lawrence said the man who was hauling the boat approached them aggressively and sarcastically thanked her for running over the engine cover, according to the affidavit.

Mutter allegedly pointed the rifle at the motorist and his wife and 11-year-old son. Mutter denied threatening the family, although he admitted displaying the weapon to show that he was armed, the affidavit said.

Lawrence was charged with possession of meth after trace amounts of the drug were found in a cylindrical container clipped to her car keys, court records indicate. Mutter was likewise charged after a lock box he claimed ownership of also had trace amounts of meth inside it.