Pocatello man charged after allegedly threatening woman with trowel
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POCATELLO — A man police say threatened a woman with a gardening tool then fought with officers faces a single felony charge.
Donald Wesley Antonson, 54, has been charged with one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, court records show.
Pocatello police responded to a call reporting a disturbance on East Poplar Street around 10:30 p.m. Dec. 17, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The caller said she had been involved in a verbal altercation with Antonson, during which Antonson threatened her with a shovel.
When officers arrived, they could hear, from outside the building, a man and woman arguing, the affidavit says. Shortly after their arrival, a woman exited the building, followed immediately by a man who “quickly retreated back inside” when he saw the officers.
Antonson, carrying bags of his belongings, came back outside when officers asked him to do so.
Once he was outside, the affidavit says, Antonson became “argumentative” with officers, saying the only way they were going to separate him from his belongings was if they cuffed his hands. One of the officers grabbed Antonson by the arm in an attempt to lead him toward the cruisers parked on the street, but he pulled away from the officer.
The officer performed an “arm bar takedown” to get Antonson to the ground, but he reportedly continued to struggle and attempt to pull away from the officers, even after he had been controlled and handcuffed.
Officers eventually used a wrap restrain device to control him.
In speaking with the victim, officers learned Antonson had “out of the blue” began threatening the woman. At one point, she told officers, Antonson raised a shovel — determined to be a small gardening trowel — above his head and said to the victim, “I’ll take you out.”
The victim said the threat made her fear for her safety, according to the affidavit.
Antonson was taken to Bannock Count Jail. He was released on his own recognizance with a no-contact order and GPS monitoring Thursday.
Though Antonson has been charged with this crime, it does not necessarily mean he committed it. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
If he is found guilty, Antonson would face up to five years in prison.
A preliminary hearing has been waived and he has been bound over to District Court. An arraignment hearing has yet to be scheduled.