74-year-old man was defending himself when he shot, killed alleged truck prowler in Cd’A parking lot, prosecutor says

A North Idaho resident who shot and killed a man suspected of burglarizing his truck and driving into him last month in Coeur d’Alene will not face charges, according to the Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office.

The prosecutor’s office determined James Dean, 74, was defending himself from Shane Brown, 30, of Sandpoint, according to a letter from Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney Stanley Mortensen to Coeur d’Alene Police Department Detective Craig Buhl.

Dean and his wife were walking back to their pickup in the parking lot outside Michaels, 225 W. Canfield Ave., and saw Brown exit the back of the truck, Mortensen wrote. Brown had an object in his hands and got into a vehicle parked next to the truck.

Dean told his wife to call the police, positioned himself in front of the car and yelled for Brown to stop and stay where he was. Brown discarded the object in his hands near where Dean was standing. Dean recognized the object as likely being the bag he kept in his truck that contained his ham radios.

Brown started the car while Dean was standing in front of the vehicle and indicated he was going to drive forward. Dean drew his handgun and yelled for Brown to turn the engine off when Brown reached as though he was going to put the car in gear, according to police.

Brown turned the engine off and Dean holstered his gun. However, Brown turned the car back on and reached as if he was going to put the car in gear, so Dean drew his gun again, according to police. Brown drove the car into Dean at a high speed and Dean fired five times through the windshield. Brown was struck by several bullets and died at a hospital.

Dean was thrown from the hood of the vehicle after it crashed into another car in the parking lot, according to police. He was taken to the hospital but has since been released.