Man takes Alford Plea after kids report he threatened them with a gun

Frank E. Cloud | Bonneville County Jail
IDAHO FALLS — A judge placed a Bonneville County man on probation for allegedly threatening three kids who rode a four-wheeler on his property this summer.
Frank E. Cloud, 51, took an Alford Plea to misdemeanor exhibition of a deadly weapon on Oct. 1 and was placed on six months of probation. Cloud was initially charged with felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon but as part of a plea agreement made with Bonneville County prosecutors, the charge was reduced to the misdemeanor.
An Alford plea is a guilty plea where a defendant continues to assert their innocence but admits a jury would likely find them guilty with the evidence presented.
The incident occurred near 115th East and Swan Valley Highway after a mom said her 16, 15 and 10-year-olds riding a four-wheeler were threatened by Cloud. According to court documents, Cloud started following them in his pickup truck, pulled a gun on the kids and fired it into the ground in front of them.
The children said they were riding the four-wheeler at a farm and using an access road through Cloud’s property. Cloud told deputies it upset him that they were speeding up and down the road and not wearing helmets. Although Cloud said he did drive his pickup while following the children to their house, he denied ever pulling a gun.
They told a different story, though, saying that as they rode back to their house, Cloud followed them in his pickup.
Cloud yelled expletives at them while telling them not to ride on his property again, they said. Cloud then allegedly pulled a handgun from his pocket and fired it into the ground. As the children were going back to their home, Cloud kept yelling at them to not trespass, according to court documents.
Investigators said Cloud’s recollection of events was all over the place and had inconsistencies. In the backyard, deputies also spotted what looked like tire tracks in the lawn and a broken pipe for the sprinkler system, presumably from where his pickup had hit it, which supported the witnesses’ version of events.
In addition to the time on probation, Magistrate Judge Kent Gauchay ordered Cloud to pay $307.50 in fees and fines.
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Source: eastidahonews.com