Man allegedly threatens stranger in car with knife, tries to break into vehicle

IDAHO FALLS — A 39-year-old Idaho Falls man was arrested over the weekend after allegedly holding a knife up to a stranger and trying to break into her car as she sat inside.

Shaun Jerad Strader was charged with felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

According to an Idaho Falls Police report, on Friday at 1:20 p.m., officers were dispatched to the area of Northwest Bonneville and Kearny after Strader was threatening a woman with a knife.

While officers were en route to the call, the victim reported to police that she was in her car and a man tried breaking into her car at knifepoint. She described him as a white man, tall, bald, with a light brown goatee and said the knife was rusty looking and possibly broken on top.

The victim told dispatch that the man, who was later identified as Strader, was then walking west across the canal bridge.

“As we were arriving in the area, there were several people out on the street directing us to where the suspect was,” the report said.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, the suspect had jumped into the canal and was against the east bank of the canal, hiding in the weeds.

“We arrived on scene and located the suspect ordering him out of the canal at gunpoint,” the officer wrote.

Strader complied and he was handcuffed.

The victim told police that she had just pulled up in front of her mom’s house and was sitting in her vehicle when a strange man walked up to her car holding an open knife blade in his hand. He exposed the knife by holding it up at her and tried to open the back door of her car. The vehicle was locked, so he could not get in.

She said Strader then went to the driver’s side window, which was cracked open and kept telling her to “let him in” and “let’s just go” while holding the knife up.

The victim told him that she was calling the police. At that point, he walked away toward the canal. The victim got out of her vehicle and ran into the house to call 911.

The victim told police that “she was scared and in fear for her safety.”

An officer asked Strader if he would be willing to talk. Strader told the officer no.

“Strader appeared to be excited, nervous, jerking all around, mumbling nonsense and appeared to be under the influence of a narcotic,” documents said.

An officer found a folding knife in Strader’s back pocket after a pat down.

He was transported to the Bonneville County jail, however, the jail sergeant would not admit Strader into jail and believed Strader was expressing signs of excited delirium. Excited delirium is described as an acute confusional state marked by intense paranoia, hallucinations and violence toward objects and people.

Strader was taken to a local hospital and was still in a very agitated state, according to documents. Due to his behavior and to protect hospital staff, he was handcuffed to the side walls of the hospital bed.

Strader was eventually cleared for jail and was transported back to jail.

He was issued a no-contact order against the victim and remains in jail on a $25,000 bond. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 2 at 1 p.m. at the Bonneville County courthouse.