Councilman nabs suspected burglar

SANDPOINT — City Councilman Justin Schuck took civil service to a whole new level Tuesday by apprehending a suspected burglar.

Stanley Evan Richardson Jr. was charged with two counts of burglary and was ordered held in lieu of $25,000 bail on Wednesday. Judge Barbara Buchanan appointed a public defender to represent Richardson, who is unemployed.

Schuck’s wife allegedly discovered Richardson rifling through the contents of her car and alerted her husband, who grabbed a shotgun and confronted him, according to a Sandpoint Police report.

Schuck, 31, reportedly told Richardson to get on the ground or risk being shot. A brief struggle ensued and Schuck managed to subdue Richardson by sitting on him, the police report said.

Richardson, 18, alternately stated that he was looking for the home of a friend and that he had recently moved to the neighborhood, lost his way and was trying to find a shortcut home, the report said.

Richardson allegedly smelled of alcohol and his breath-alcohol level was measured at 0.07.

An unspecified amount of marijuana was found on Richardson when he was booked into the Bonner County Jail, court records indicate.

Although nothing appeared to have been taken from the couple’s vehicles, Richardson was charged with burglary because he allegedly entered them in order to steal, the criminal complaint said.

Burglars have been plaguing Sandpoint and Bonner County for the last couple of months, prompting officials to remind residents to secure their homes and vehicles, and to be on the lookout for suspicious activity or people.