In RUPERT • A former Minidoka County deputy who, this year, ran for sheriff has been arrested and charged with felony burglary and aggravated assault or battery on a law enforcement officer.
Darrell James (Jim) Broner, 51, of Rupert was arrested Saturday after he was seen at the Cassia County Sheriff’s Office washing his hands in the drinking fountain.
Broner is being held at the Mini-Cassia Criminal Detention Center on a $50,000 bond.
A preliminary hearing is set in the case at 3:30 p.m., Dec. 17 in Minidoka County Magistrate Court in front of Judge Mick Hodges.
According to court records, Broner allegedly went to Capt. Daniel Guy Kindig’s Minidoka County residence and knocked on the door. Kindig told the Idaho State Police that after a brief conversation, Broner struck Kindig and broke his nose. Kindig told officers that when he was struck he was knocked backwards and Broner entered his home.
Kindig identified Broner, saying they were former co-workers at the Minidoka County Sheriff’s Office.
The ISP officer at the scene said there were “two large groups of blood on the floor inside the front door” and blood spots on Kindig’s shirt and boxer shorts.
Kindig’s nose appeared cut and swollen, the police report reads.
According to court records, when Broner was arrested he had blood on his pants and there was blood visible inside his 2000 Jeep Wrangler. He was also seen destroying evidence from the crime scene as he washed his hands in the water fountain.
The Jeep and his clothing were seized as evidence.
In July 2013, Broner applied as a candidate for the appointment of sheriff, after former Minidoka County Sheriff Kevin Halverson resigned. Halverson resigned as part of a plea deal after he was charged with felony misuse of public funds by a public official. Halverson was charged by the Idaho Attorney General’s Office after a lengthy investigation caught him using a county credit card to put fuel in his girlfriend’s vehicle. He was convicted and served 90 days in an undisclosed county jail.
His girlfriend, Alice (Alicia) Daniel, is facing felony charges of grand theft and presentation of a fraudulent account or claim by any person with the intent to defraud filed by the AG’s office in connection with the investigation. A jury trial is set in the case for February, 2015.
After Eric Snarr was appointed as sheriff, Broner ran against him in the May Republican Primary. At the time, Broner claimed he had been fired from the Sheriff’s Office by the Snarr administration for being a whistle blower in the Halverson case. Snarr refutes that claim.
Broner, a former U.S. Marine, worked as a deputy at the sheriff’s office since 1995.
Broner could face up to 30 years in prison and up to a $50,000 fine on the aggravated assault or battery on a police officer charge. The penalty for burglary is 1 to 10 years in prison and up to a $50,000 fine.
