Woman arrested in shooting
By GREG MOORE
Express Staff Writer
A Sun Valley Police Department employee was arrested
Saturday on an aggravated assault charge after allegedly trying to shoot
the wife of a Ketchum police officer who had recently cited her for DUI.
According to a press release from the Blaine County
Sheriff’s Office, Gail J. High, 38, was taken into custody at 10:30 p.m.
Saturday by Ketchum police Sgt. Dave Kassner at his home in Hulen Meadows.
High has since been transferred to Intermountain Hospital, a psychiatric
institution, in Boise.
While on patrol, Kassner had stopped High shortly before
8:30 p.m. at the corner of Main and Fourth streets in Ketchum on suspicion
of DUI. He transported her to the Ketchum Police Department, where,
according to Chief Cal Nevland, she failed a breath test. She was cited
for DUI and released on her own recognizance, leaving in a taxi.
High directed the taxi to her residence in Sun Valley and
then to Kassner’s home. She was met at the house by a renter, John
Straka. High asked him if she was at the Kassner residence, and he let her
in and called for Kassner’s wife, Colleen.
When he turned back toward High, he saw that she had
pulled a handgun, which she was aiming at the doorway toward which he had
called Mrs. Kassner. Straka grabbed the .40-caliber Glock pistol and
struggled with High when a shot was fired from the gun.
A call was placed to 911.
Meanwhile, Sgt. Kassner was heading home for dinner.
"He pulled into his driveway and here’s the 911
call coming from his home," Blaine County Sheriff Walt Femling said.
Kassner subdued High and placed her in handcuffs. She was
charged with aggravated assault and assault with intent to commit a
serious felony, both felonies, and with possession of a deadly weapon with
intent to assault, a misdemeanor. A court appearance date has not been
set.
High is employed at the Sun Valley Police Department as a
community service officer.
Sun Valley police Chief Cam Daggett said High had worked
for the department for about a year and a half. Her duties included animal
control and parking, he said, but the bulk of her duties were clerical.
Daggett said High’s performance evaluations were
"fine," adding that her position did not require nor permit
carrying a firearm. Friday had been her last day at work before she was
scheduled for "personal time off."
