Salmon man arrested after allegedly threatening bank tellers with knife
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SALMON – A man appeared in court Wednesday after he allegedly threatened multiple people at a bank with a knife.
Randy Jacob Shelley, 37, is charged with felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
On Aug. 9, Salmon police officers were called to respond to an incident at the Wells Fargo Bank in Salmon. The caller said a man had been waving a knife at the tellers, according to the police report.
When officers arrived, the bank supervisor told them that a “tall white male, with a neck tattoo, goatee and maroon shirt with ripped designer type jeans” had entered the bank with another man who appeared to be intoxicated.
The supervisor told police, “his words were slurred and (the man) made comments that he wanted his money.”
According to court documents, the first man then “produced a fixed blade knife with a white handle and started to wave it around at the teller working the counter.”
At one point, the man allegedly “made a stabbing-like motion around the protective barrier towards the teller.”
The supervisor said the teller was scared that the man was trying to stab at her, but the seemingly intoxicated man was “able to get the friend to drop the knife and leave.”
After the men left, the employees locked the doors, went into lockdown and called the police.
The bank employees told officers that they did not know who the men were.
As police were leaving the bank, one officer reported there was a tall white male matching the description of the suspect that was trying to return to the bank. The officers noticed the man was yelling loudly to himself, and as soon as he noticed the police, he immediately turned and started to walk away.
The officer told the man to stop, but the man “proceeded to turn about-face in (the officer’s) direction walking backward and continued to shoot profanities.”
The suspect told the officer that he was “a motherf*****” and asked if he “really wanted to f****** fight today.”
Officers again told him to stop, but the man continued to yell as the police got closer. According to police records, the man “took a fighting stance with his fist clenched to his sides and then would wildly swing about yelling more profanity-laced slurred words.”
Officers saw a knife holster attached to the man’s belt but could not see a knife. After drawing a taser, the officer told the man to turn around and put his hands on his head, or he would be tased.
The man was still yelling profanities but complied with officer commands. The employees from the bank were watching the ordeal and positively identified the man as the one who threatened the bank teller.
Officers were later able to identify the man as Shelley. He was booked into the Lemhi County Jail, where his bail was set to $50,000, and a no-contact order was issued for the victims.
Though Shelley has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
Shelley is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 23. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison.