Man charged after allegedly walking into home with gun and threatening residents
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IDAHO FALLS – A 32-year-old man was arrested Tuesday after police say he walked into a home with a revolver and threatened the people inside.
Steven Pongyan was charged with three counts of felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
On Tuesday around 10:30 p.m., an Idaho Falls Police officer responded to a home for a weapons call, according to court documents.
The officer met with three people at the home. One told the officer there was a “pounding at the door.” When he opened it, Pongyan was allegedly holding a revolver and pointing it at him.
Pongyan entered the house and pointed it at all three people inside, police say.
According to one of the victims, he “blanked out (of) the conversation that was occurring out of fear due to the gun being pointed at him.”
Another victim said Pongyan was yelling, “What the f*** is good” at them as he was pointing the gun.
Eventually, Pongyan left the house in a white Pontiac Grand Prix and headed southbound on Lee Avenue. Officers later found the Pontiac parked at a home on K Street.
While setting up a perimeter around the house, officers say they could see Pongyan “sitting inside the house, falling in and out of sleep while holding the firearm that was described in the earlier events.”
Officers called Pongyan on a landline phone, and he agreed to come outside, where he was taken into custody and arrested.
A search warrant was obtained by officers, and they reportedly found the gun inside the mattress zipper on the underside of a child’s bed.
Pongyan was booked into the Bonneville County Jail and his bond is set at $15,000. A no-contact order was issued for the victims, and Pongyan is expected to appear for a preliminary hearing on March 20.
If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.
Though Pongyan has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.