The ACSO SWAT team arrested a 66-year-old Garden City man who pointed a gun at another camper near Swan Falls Dam late Sunday night.
Mark R. Allen is charged with felony counts of aggravated assault and using a firearm in the commission of felony. Allen is being held in the Ada County Jail on a $75,000 bond.
Deputies began their investigation just before 10:30 p.m. Sunday after dispatchers got a call reporting shots being fired near the Swan Falls Dam.
Deputies arrived and talked to a man who said he was checking on Allen after he saw him fall down by a campsite in the area north of the dam when Allen pulled out a gun and pointed it him.
The man said he jumped off a rock ledge and into the river to get away from Allen. The man swam over to the Swan Falls Dam, got out, and called the emergency phone to report what happened.
When deputies were talking to that man, they heard a few shots coming from the dispersed camping area north of the dam.
At that point, based on the where the shots came from – in the dispersed camping and totally dark recreation area north of the dam – deputies sent up an aerial drone to find the source of the shooting.
The drone located Allen sitting by the side of the river. A deputy used the speaker on the drone to talk to Allen, who refused to cooperate but appeared to be yelling at the drone.
That’s when the SWAT team was called in. They arrived a short time later and began a ground search, aided by the aerial drone.
They found Allen shortly after 2 a.m. He surrendered without further incident.
Allen appeared intoxicated. He got a medical evaluation and then was taken to jail.
Allen’s next court appearance is set for Aug. 25.