Idaho AG charges Sheriff Rowland with aggravated battery & assault

BLACKFOOT — The Bingham County Sheriff allegedly pulled a woman out of her car by her hair and pointed a gun at her head after she and a group of teenage girls delivered a “thankful turkey” to the Sheriff’s home.

The Idaho Attorney General’s Office is charging Sheriff Craig Rowland with felony aggravated battery and aggravated assault and misdemeanor exhibition or use of a deadly weapon. The charges come after an investigation into an alleged incident that occurred at Rowland’s home on the evening of Nov. 9, 2021.

According to the Affidavit of Probable Cause, written by the Idaho State Attorney General’s Office Lead Investigator Nicholas Edwards, Rowland was off duty and in his home the night of Nov. 9. He’d allegedly had an alcoholic beverage with dinner but told Edwards he wasn’t impaired.

Also that evening an adult leader of a local church youth group was driving a group of seven girls, ages 12 to 16, around town to deliver the “thankful turkeys” they had made earlier.

The girls had made the “thankful turkeys” by tracing their hands on paper and cutting out the shapes. The girls identified individuals whom they were thankful for and wrote the reasons why they were thankful for these individuals on the “thankful turkeys.” They then went out with their leader to deliver them in secret, taping the “thankful turkeys” to doors, knocking, and running away so as not to be seen. One of the individuals the girls chose was Rowland’s wife, Lisa.

Rowland told Edwards that around 8 p.m. that night he let his dog outside to go to the bathroom and that is when he saw two people come around the side of the garage. He said it startled him and he yelled something at them. The two individuals then ran down his driveway and down the road. After inspecting to make sure no one had broken into his Bingham County vehicle, he went back inside.

The youth leader told Edwards that by the time they arrived at the Sheriff’s home, not long before 8 p.m., they had delivered all but two of their “thankful turkeys.” She said two of the girls went to deliver the “thankful turkey” to Rowland’s home but quickly returned to the car giggling. They said they thought they had seen Rowland and couldn’t deliver the “thankful turkey” without getting caught.

The group left to go deliver another “thankful turkey” to a different home. Around 8 p.m. they circled back to Rowland’s residence.

According to the affidavit, Rowland told Edwards that he heard the screen door open and a knock at the door.

“The Sheriff told me he thought someone was going to break into his residence,” Edwards wrote in the affidavit. “He saw a vehicle at the end of the cul-de-sac turning around and thought to himself, ‘what the hell are they doing out here? Are they casing me out? Are they casing the neighborhood out?'”

Rowland allegedly told his wife to get his gun. When she handed him his gun belt he unholstered his weapon, turned the outside light on and saw a group of people running down the road. He then walked out of the house and into the road.

The youth leader told Edwards that she saw Rowland walk into the road and appear to wave her down with one hand. She said she saw he had a gun in his other hand.

A 13-year-old girl who was in the car wrote in a statement to law enforcement that she thought the Sheriff had come outside to thank them for the “thankful turkey.”

The youth leader said as Rowland approached, she opened her door to speak to him because her window was broken and wouldn’t roll down. She said she told Rowland that they were there to deliver something to his wife.

She told Edwards that Rowland moved to her door and pointed his gun at her. She said he also pointed his gun at the front passenger side where two of the young girls were sitting.

“I reach in and pull the driver out by the hair. I say, ‘who the f**k are you?’ and I do have my gun in my hand, but still have my finger on the slide, she says (her name) and I said ‘get the f**k out of here,'” Rowland allegedly told Edwards.

Several of the girls also allegedly told Edwards that they saw Rowland point the gun at their leader’s head while he held her by her hair.

A 15-year-old girl who had been in the car told the investigator that “Rowland did not seem like himself,” “Sheriff Rowland showed no signs of recognizing (the youth leader.)”

In their interview with Edwards, the youth leader’s husband allegedly said that Rowland had been a close family friend for 30 years.

Rowland’s attorney, Justin Oleson, allegedly said that Rowland did not recognize the youth leader.

The 15-year-old and several other girls who had been in the car allegedly told Edwards that they heard Rowland say that he “would f**king shoot her if she ever did that again.”

The youth leader then got back in the car and drove off.

According to the affidavit, Rowland and his wife told Edwards that they had received threats before the incidents on Nov. 9.

Rowland’s wife described an incident in Costco where an individual, who had previously been arrested as a result of a drug investigation that she had been involved in, approached her.

She said the individual told her he had recently gotten out of jail and was looking for work. She said the individual later got angry at one of the employees because they wouldn’t let him checkout without a membership.

Rowland told Edwards about an individual who is allegedly in constant contact with law enforcement. Rowland said the individual is considered dangerous and always has a firearm. The individual allegedly sends Rowland emails saying that the Sheriff should be in jail or fired. He said the individual’s emails are 40 pages long containing conspiracy theories.

“I have been doing this job for 36 years, I’ve had drunk Indians drive down my cul-de-sac, I’ve had drunk Indians come to my door, I live just off of the reservation, we have a lot of reservation people around us that are not good people, they committed crimes, we’ve arrested them, so on and so forth,” Rowland allegedly told Edwards.

According to the affidavit, the Idaho AG’s Office reviewed three videos captured by Rowland’s video doorbell.

The first video allegedly shows two girls standing at the corner of Rowland’s house. The girls scream and run away. Edwards said in the affidavit that it sounds like Rowland screams at the girls. Right after, Rowland is seen opening the door to let his dog inside.

“Sheriff Rowland can then be heard laughing,” Edwards wrote.

He also notes that with the porch light on, it is easy to tell that the person in the video running away is a child of about 10 or 12 years.

The second video allegedly shows three girls approach the house, open the screen door and tape the “thankful turkey” to the inside of the screen door. One of them then rings the doorbell and knocks on the door.

Not long after, the porch light turns on.

“Sheriff Rowland can then be heard saying ‘thank you’ and then ‘that’s frickin’ bulsh*t,'” Edwards wrote.

The video allegedly shows Rowland open the screen door and, apparently, look at the “thankful turkey.”

“As he closed the screen door, Sheriff Rowland says ‘get my gun,'” Edwards wrote.

The investigator noted that Rowland would have been able to see and read the “thankful turkey” when he opened the main door.

The third and final video allegedly shows Rowland returning to the house after the alleged incident in the street. Rowland is seen holding his gun in his right hand.

“He takes the turkey off of the screen door. He says that it was (the youth leader). A woman, presumably Lisa Rowland, says “we’re done,” Edwards wrote in the affidavit.

If convicted, Rowland could face up to 20.5 years in prison. Fifteen years for aggravated battery, five years for aggravated assault and six months for exhibition or use of a deadly weapon.

Rowland is scheduled to make his initial appearance in court on Dec. 22.

According to Idaho code Section, 59-901 Rowland will be removed from office if convicted.