Woman says man who prompted standoff shoved her out from moving car
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IONA — The Iona man who prompted a nearly six-hour standoff with a SWAT team was wanted for a reported attack on a woman he had allegedly shoved out a moving car.
On Nov. 3, deputies with the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a domestic incident, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by EastIdahoNews.com. A woman told deputies Michael M. Miller, 45, was upset about the furnace being turned off in his home. At some point, the woman and Miller went on a drive, and she said he pushed her out of a moving car.
Miller is charged with felony domestic battery causing traumatic injury for that incident. He has also been charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest for the standoff with law enforcement on Nov. 23. If convicted, Miller could spend up to 10 years in prison and one year in jail.
The domestic battery
During interviews with deputies, the victim said that Miller “got very upset” inside the vehicle and reached over to punch her three times in the face. The woman asked Miller to stop the car so she could get out. After he stopped the car, the woman said, Miller grabbed her arm and would not let her out.
“Once (the woman) had the vehicle door open, Michael reportedly started driving forward and pushed (the woman) out the vehicle while it was in motion,” a deputy’s report reads.
The woman told deputies she wasn’t sure how fast Miller was driving, but she did tumble once or twice. Deputies noted the woman sustained injuries consistent with being pushed out a moving car. She was also not wearing shoes.
When deputies tried speaking with Miller, he reportedly hung up the phone.
Following the incident, a warrant for Miller’s arrest was issued.
The standoff
Shortly before 4 p.m. on Nov. 23, deputies were called to conduct a welfare check on a woman at the 3600 block of North Main Street in Iona. According to a Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office news release, the woman and Miller refused to communicate from inside the home. Police did not specify if she was the same woman Miller allegedly pushed out of the car.
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“Due to safety concerns for the well-being of the female and the information at hand, the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team was activated to assist while a search warrant was sought for the residence,” according to the news release.
The SWAT team broke through two windows of the home around 10 p.m. and started talking to him. Shortly after that, Miller walked out of the home and gave himself up to deputies, according to the news release.
Law enforcement found the woman inside suffering from a medical condition. The nature of her condition was not released.
Past criminal activity
At the time of the car and standoff incidents, Miller was on parole for a felony forgery and grand theft conviction. The Idaho Department of Correction listed him as a fugitive after failing to appear for a court hearing Sept. 18.
Miller used a deceased relative’s identification to open and use credit accounts at tire stores in Idaho Falls for about $2,700.
Additionally, court records list more than two dozen criminal cases in Bonneville County for Miller since 1995.
A preliminary hearing for Miller is scheduled for Dec. 6. He remains in the Bonneville County Jail.