Police: Drunk convicted felon arrested after firing handgun through floor of Pocatello apartment building

POCATELLO — A 34-year-old convicted felon was recently arrested after police say he discharged a pistol he illegally possessed through the floor of an apartment building and then eluded officers during a brief vehicle pursuit while driving drunk.

William Wayne Joseph Braden, of Blackfoot, has been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and discharging a firearm at an occupied building, both of which are felonies. He was also charged with misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence, eluding an officer, driving without privileges and possession of an open alcoholic beverage container.

The incident began to unfold around 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 17 when Pocatello police were dispatched to the 1400 block of Lakeview Drive for the report of a firearm being discharged into an upstairs apartment and traveling through the floor into the apartment below, according to police and court records the Idaho State Journal recently obtained.

Upon arrival, officers made contact with several people in the upstairs apartment who said that Braden “negligently discharged his handgun into the floor of the apartment,” and then fled the scene in a white Kia Optima, police said.

One of the witnesses to the incident described the gun as a black and silver handgun that he was holstering on his hip prior to it being discharged, the report says. The witness said that she was standing in the kitchen of the upstairs apartment when she heard a loud noise come from the living room followed by Braden and a woman arguing about whose fault it was that the firearm was discharged, police said.

Braden then made a comment about leaving the residence and never returning before exiting the apartment and fleeing the scene in the Kia Optima, according to the report.

Officers a short while later located the Optima parked near the intersection of Placid Avenue and East Poplar Street. When an officer attempted to make contact with the driver, later identified as Braden, he fled the scene, the report says.

After a brief pursuit, Braden stopped the vehicle in the parking lot of The Grove apartments on Eastridge Drive, said police, adding that he was ordered out of the vehicle at gunpoint and taken into police custody without further incident.

While officers were searching his person, they observed a strong odor of alcohol emanating from his breath and that his speech was slurred, police said.

Officers searched the vehicle and located a black and silver handgun in a holster that had an 18-round magazine that was loaded with 17 rounds of ammunition and an open alcoholic beverage container, the report says.

Braden failed to complete standardized field sobriety tests in a satisfactory manner and then refused to provide a breath sample, said police, adding that he was taken to the Pocatello police station where a blood draw was completed.

After officers took Braden’s blood he was then transferred to Portneuf Medical Center because he suffered three separate seizures while in police custody, the report says. He was medically cleared and transported to the Bannock County Jail in Pocatello.

Braden appeared in front of 6th District Magistrate Judge David Hooste for an arraignment hearing on Monday, during which his bond was set at $10,000. He posted the bond on Thursday and was released from jail.

He is set to appear back in court on Aug. 29 for a preliminary hearing that will involve local prosecutors attempting to prove there is enough evidence against him to elevate the case from the magistrate to district court level for trial.

If convicted of the two felony charges filed against him, Braden faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $55,000.