Central Idaho man acquitted on 3 felonies after police standoff, prosecutor disbarment
A 47-year-old Challis man, charged with three felonies — including assault with intent to murder — after an armed incident at his home last spring when he fired a gun at two other city residents was acquitted on the charges after a Custer County jury said he acted in self-defense.
Curtis Lee Caton, a U.S. Forest Service employee at the time, was held at the Lemhi County Jail for nearly a year as he waited for his day in court on the alleged violent offenses. SWAT teams were called to his Central Idaho home in May 2024 after Challis residents called police to report that Caton had fired a handgun at their vehicle, shattering their back window.
After a six-hour armed standoff with the Custer County Sheriff’s Office, Caton surrendered and was taken into custody. He pleaded guilty to a separate misdemeanor charge of resisting or obstructing officers in February related to the standoff. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 13 and faces a maximum of one year in prison, which is expected to be eclipsed by his time served while he awaited trial.
His defense attorneys, Richard Blok and Elisheva Patterson, successfully argued during a five-day trial that their client was actually fearful for his safety when the other Challis residents followed him to his property with their own firearms. Caton and his wife both testified, and jurors returned not guilty verdicts on all counts.
The other two charges were unlawful discharge of a weapon at a vehicle and malicious injury to property.
The jury “showed common sense and commitment to justice” in returning an acquittal of Caton, Blok told the Idaho Statesman in an emailed statement.
“From the beginning this was a clear case of self-defense,” he said. “Curtis Caton and his wife were pursued, threatened and harassed that evening by the complaining witnesses and their juvenile accomplices — chased on the highway at speeds over 100 mph, blocked and trapped while trying to disengage, and eventually hunted to his home.”
Shots fired at campsite ignited local Idaho conflict
Before his arrest, Caton worked as a geologist and mineral administrator on the Salmon-Challis National Forest, including on a high-profile cobalt mine project that received approved in 2023. It is unclear whether he retained his job in light of avoiding what could have been up to a 35-year prison sentence in the case. A spokesperson for the Salmon-Challis National Forest did not respond to a request for comment from the Statesman.
The conflict between Caton and his accusers originated late at night at a campsite in Bradbury Flat in Custer County, according to the probable cause affidavit reviewed by the Statesman in online court filings. Three minors heard gunfire and believed they had been fired at, and were scared of being shot, wrote Sheriff’s Deputy Dave Walls.
The boys reported the incident to the parents of one of the boys, Cole Thornock and Sara Phillips. The adult couple then spotted the silver Toyota Tacoma the boys said they saw at the campsite at what was later determined to be Caton’s home. They called 911 to report that when they tried to check the pickup truck’s license plate, gunfire rang out and struck their vehicle, the affidavit read.
Caton’s attorney disputed the police narrative, which led Custer County Prosecutor Justin Oleson to bring felony charges against Caton. In a court filing from trial, Blok wrote that state witnesses testified in “contradictory ways.”
“When Curtis thought he finally got home safely, almost immediately the complaining witnesses showed up at his house armed and pointed an AR-style rifle at him,” Blok told the Statesman. ”Only then did Curtis open fire to protect himself. Last year, Curtis’ pursuers made up nonsense stories to justify their crazed vigilante acts while Curtis was forced to wait a year to tell his side of the story and prove his innocence.”
Prosecutor disbarred at midpoint of trial
On the third day of the trial, Blok said, the Idaho Supreme Court disbarred Oleson for unrelated professional misconduct violations. His last day as Custer County’s elected prosecutor was Friday, the office’s administrative assistant, Christine Matson, told the Statesman by phone. The justices permitted Oleson to finish Caton’s trial before he was forced to resign.
Caton’s attorneys filed to dismiss the charges after Oleson was disbarred from practicing law in Idaho, arguing that continuing with the case was improper and prejudiced their client. But Judge Darren Simpson of Idaho’s 7th Judicial District denied the motion, and the trial resumed for another two days until jurors were sent to deliberate.
A little over an hour later, the jury sent a question to Simpson that asked whether self-defense would apply to all three charges if they believed it did with the charge of assault with intent to murder, according to court records. Simpson responded that self-defense either applied to all three counts or to none of the counts, based on jurors’ findings.
After three and a half hours of deliberations, the jury returned with its full acquittal of Caton.
Reached by email, Oleson described himself as “disappointed” by the verdict. “Not much else to say,” he wrote.
“Despite their efforts the prosecution was unable to downplay the complaining witness’ actions in court, and we were able to show through cross-examination, police testimony, video, and physical evidence that self-defense was more than merited in this situation,” Blok said.
Oleson did not respond to questions from the Statesman about his disbarment. Oleson’s attorney, Michelle Points, also did not respond to an emailed request.
A legal filing to request the Supreme Court rehear Oleson’s case is due April 16. But the justices, who unanimously ruled to revoke his law license, denied Oleson’s motion for an emergency stay to retain it in the interim.
Joseph Pirtle, counsel for the Idaho State Bar, declined to comment, citing Oleson’s pending case, because he filed for a rehearing the day the Supreme Court ruled to disbar him.