He called dispatch armed and suicidal. Deputies talked to him down a basement stairwell for nearly ten minutes. The third time he came to the bottom of the stairs, the gun came up.
Friday, September 4, 2026 · Badger Creek Road, Bonneville County, Idaho · Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office
The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office released this body worn camera video on Monday, October 5. The Sheriff’s Office says the video was edited to the pertinent portions of the incident, with graphic details blurred. Viewer discretion advised.
Free — the opening chapterUnits Are SurroundedFive shootings in five months between members of the Soboba Indian Reservation and law enforcement in the Hemet area of Riverside County. My story about being in the middle of it. The full book is coming.Read how it starts
According to the Sheriff’s Office, just before 6 a.m., 43-year-old Marcus J. Griffin called Bonneville County Dispatch saying he was armed and considering killing himself. Two deputies arrived at 6:03 a.m. His parents met them at the front door and said he was downstairs and intoxicated.
From the top of the basement stairs, he first told deputies not to come down because he was armed, then said he would not shoot a deputy who came down to talk. At the bottom, a deputy saw him across the room holding a handgun, and deputies moved back to the top of the stairs as he began yelling.
Deputies kept talking to him for nearly ten minutes while more deputies arrived and moved his parents out of the house. The Sheriff’s Office says he made several threatening and suicidal statements, including coming up the stairs to shoot them.
He appeared at the bottom of the stairs with the handgun and refused commands to drop it. He appeared a second time, and one deputy fired before he moved out of view. He appeared a third time pointing the gun at deputies, and both deputies fired. The Sheriff’s Office says he fired toward the deputies during that exchange, striking the wall near the stairs.
Deputies began lifesaving measures. He was declared deceased at the scene. The Sheriff’s Office says no deputies were injured and neither were his parents, who had been moved outside moments earlier.
Case status: The East Idaho Critical Incident Task Force investigated, with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office as lead agency. On October 2, 2026, the Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office published a criminal liability review finding the two deputies’ actions justified as self-defense.
If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988.
Units Are Surrounded
The new book from Ray Dietrich. Five shootings in five months in Riverside County. The full book is coming - read how it starts, free.
