Woman charged after allegedly pointing gun at another woman who was ‘talking smack’

MCCAMMON — A woman accused of pointing an AR-15 at another woman has been charged with aggravated assault, a felony.

Cynamin Shonteah Tsosie, 21, was arrested by deputies from the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office following the incident on Jan. 17. Because a child was present when she allegedly made the threat, Tsosie has also been charged with a misdemeanor for injury to a child, according to court documents.

Around 2 p.m., the sheriff’s office received a 911 call from an administrator at Mountain View Elementary School, an affidavit of probable cause reads. The caller told dispatchers they witnessed two people who appeared to be fighting over a gun near the school.

After the fight, which was described as a tug-o-war, the two people involved got into separate vehicles and left the area. An off-duty Inkom police officer nearby heard the call and followed the vehicles.

When deputies arrived at the home in front of which the incident took place, they spoke with the victim, who was noted as having several red marks on her face and was bleeding from several wounds, court records show.

The woman told officers she was a health service provider working at the residence. While she was working, she said she was approached by Tsosie, who said, “I heard you were talking s***.”

After a brief exchange, Tsosie started punching her, the victim said.

During the scuffle, the victim said Tsosie yelled for a friend to get her rifle. When the friend did not comply, Tsosie got free from the victim and allegedly retrieved the rifle herself.

The victim told officers that Tsosie then pointed the rifle at her, endangering her and her elderly patient, the affidavit says. The victim also said she feared for a 4-year-old child who was in the home at the time of the incident.

With assistance from the Inkom officer who had provided location updates, deputies were able to track down both vehicles seen leaving the house.

One of them was driven by a friend of the victim. Court documents are unclear whether the victim’s friend was the one involved in the scuffle over the gun reported by the 911 caller.

The other vehicle, driven by Tsosie, was pulled over on Interstate 15, near mile marker 63. Tsosie was questioned there by deputies.

She said that the victim had been “talking smack” and allegedly admitted to being involved in a fight, according to police reports. However, she claimed that she never loaded her rifle or pointed it at anyone.

She told deputies that the rifle was in her vehicle and allowed them to search the vehicle.

Along with the rifle, a Palmetto AR-15, deputies found a pistol.

Tsosie’s passenger told deputies that both weapons belonged to Tsosie, and that he could not legally be in possession of either as he was a convicted felon. He also told officers that he did not see Tsosie aim the rifle at anyone, though he did not see the entire fight.

Tsosie told deputies she had been punched and, because she was pregnant, was headed to Portneuf Medical Center to check on the status of the fetus.

She was transported to Portneuf, where she was checked and cleared. She was then transported to Bannock County Jail and booked for aggravated assault. She posted a $4,000 bond and was released the following day.

If Tsosie is found guilty, she would face up to five years and six months in prison, and $51,000 in fines.

She is scheduled to appear in court before Magistrate Judge Scott Axline for a preliminary hearing Tuesday.