Fence-jumper arrested inside jail yard while walking home

Justin Clifton just wanted to get home without causing a stir.

A beeline seemed like the best route.

The 34-year-old Hayden man was arrested early Saturday inside the secure perimeter of the Kootenai County jail and charged with criminal trespassing. He’ll be arraigned next month.

Clifton’s misdemeanor arraignment will be at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 16 before First District Magistrate Judge Robert Caldwell in Coeur d’Alene.

Clifton wanted to make it home safely Saturday evening after having a few beers at the North Idaho State Fair and Rodeo. Instead of driving, he walked north across the fair parking lot until he was met with an obstruction.

And then another one.

Fences with concertina wire on top marking the edge of the secure area of the Kootenai County jail yard weren’t made to stop Clifton, he told deputies. Not when he was determined to get home.

“(He) told me something to the effect of he was a Montana boy and the fastest way home is a straight line,” Deputy Robert Imthurn wrote in a report.

Clifton was first observed walking around inside the jail yard at 12:22 a.m. by jail employees watching a security camera.

The jail was locked down as authorities from several agencies rushed to the scene.

When officers arrived, Clifton climbed a fence, slipped through the wire and dropped to the ground on the other side, where he was arrested. “Based on Clifton crossing multiple fences with barbed wire on top and crossing into KCSO Jail facility,” Clifton was arrested for misdemeanor trespassing.

“Clifton advised he was jumping fences to get home,” Imthurn wrote.

Clifton, who lives north of the Hayden Walmart, had been cited for speeding four days earlier. His criminal record includes several traffic infractions and a misdemeanor battery charge.

Once it was determined no inmates had escaped in the fracas surrounding Clifton’s arrest, Clifton was booked on the trespassing charge. Deputies took his leatherman for safekeeping.

Clifton paid $300 bail the same day to secure his release.