UPDATE: Deputy shot in standoff leaves hospital with police escort
Published at | Updated atUPDATE: Watch the video above to see the police escort.
IDAHO FALLS — A Bingham County Sheriff’s deputy who was shot Friday is expected to be released from the hospital Monday afternoon.
Deputy Todd Howell was rushed to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center after investigators say 22-year-old Juan Santos-Quintero shot the deputy. The bullet penetrated the left side of Howell’s body and entered his bullet-proof body armor.
He was hospitalized in stable condition and was in “good spirits” Saturday, according to a news release from the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office.
Howell was one of three deputies who responded to a call in Firth that someone was driving down the road shooting a gun out of the window. Santos-Quintero was inside the vehicle and deputies followed him to 725 North 600 East.
As deputies were calling people out of the house, they say Santos-Quintero fired a bullet that hit Howell. Santos-Quintero then barricaded himself inside the home until 9:30 p.m. when he was taken into custody.
Santos-Quintero has an extensive criminal history including multiple drug charges in multiple counties. Before the Friday evening incident, Idaho Falls Police issued an alert asking the public to help locate Santos-Quintero in connection to recent robbery and shots fired investigations.
Howell is expected to leave EIRMC for Blackfoot with a police escort consisting of officers and deputies from multiple agencies. It’s unclear when he will return to work.