Probation officer faces misdemeanor charges
- posted: 05 June 2007
- scrollnews@byui.edu
A Madison County juvenile probation officer now faces misdemeanor charges after he allegedly lied to police about receiving threats from an anonymous person.
Lane Sommer told police last month that someone wrote two threatening notes: one was left on his vehicle, and one was attached to a rock and thrown through his office window. He also told police that someone shot at him while he was doing yard work at his Hibbard-area home.
Officials have been investigating the attacks reported by Sommer since May 19, when he reported being shot at early that afternoon by a large, 6-foot-tall man with a black helmet, riding a loud blue motorcycle. Sommer reported that the man had shot at him several times.
According to the sheriff’s deputies, Sommer confessed Friday morning that he had shot at his own house and had written the threatening notes himself. Officials are not sure why Sommer fabricated the events.
“It’s hard to speculate on why,” said Sherriff Roy Klinger at a news conference held on June 1.
Following the incident, Madison County offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the supposed shooter. The reward was the largest amount of money ever offered by the county.
“Based on the evidence collected at the scene and the interviews conducted during the investigation, it has been determined that Lane Sommer was responsible for the shooting incident and also for the previous threats. At this time, misdemeanor charges of providing false information to law enforcement officers are pending,” stated a news release from the Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Office expressed appreciation to the Rexburg Police Department and to the public for their assistance.
The case will now be taken to court, although it is not clear when Sommers will appear in court. 
