OROFINO, Idaho (AP) -- A judge has ordered a mental health evaluation for a 56-year-old Lewiston man charged with kidnapping a 6-year-old child and holding him at knifepoint while demanding a ride into Orofino.

The Lewiston Tribune reports Magistrate Judge Randall Robinson granted a motion from Roger Dale Ehler's attorney to have Ehler evaluated to determine if he is competent to assist in his own defense.

Ehler had been staying with a relative of the child's near Orofino on July 14 when he demanded that the boy's father give him a ride into town.

Ehler is charged with first-degree kidnapping, aggravated battery, injury to a child and possession of methamphetamine along with several misdemeanors.

Clearwater County Prosecutor E. Clayne Tyler agreed with the motion for the evaluation, but asked that Ehler's bond remain at $600,000.
 

An anonymous call near the Lewiston Motel tipped police off to a suicide attempt just after midnight Thursday night. Police found a woman lying face down in an alleyway near the 2100 block of 4th avenue who was apparently suffering from a seizure.

The woman, identified as Samantha R. Martin, 23, was transported to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center for treatment and remains hospitalized.

Investigators later determined Martin was sought as a suspect in connection to a June 24 home invasion. A purse found near Martin carried her identification and a large crescent wrench that matched a description of a weapon used to threaten the victim during the robbery.

In an earlier press release sent by Lewiston Police, they say a female wearing a ski mask entered the home, located in the 3100 block of 9th St., and threatened to strike her with a blunt object.

The victim says she was forced to sit on the couch while the suspect stole prescription medication and cash.

Following Thursday’s investigation, Lewiston Police say Martin took a large dose of medication and she had written a suicide note.

For those that have been following the news lately, we've been covering the recent deputy shootout heavily.

I'd like to use this time to remind everyone to send us story ideas for things happening in your community. You're always welcome to email me personally at nicoleh@kxly.com since I'm the one managing, producing and writing the majority of the content.

To see what we've been working on www.kxly.com and other community sites, here's a few useful links of the shooting coverage:

Timeline: A Routine Traffic Stop

This is a call feature we put a lot of work into. It documents all the confirmed related events into a timeline so you know what happened and when. It's very visual with a brief description of the incidents. Includes photos, video and audio from dispatch.

Spokane Valley deputies help respond to Tuesday's shooting

While we drove north to respond to breaking news, we saw vehicles from nearly every law enforcement area in the region. Spokane Valley deputies were some of those who responded to the scene. They had to drive 19+ miles to respond via I-90 and other roads to get to the area of north Spokane.

Code-99 screams over scanner traffic from injured deputies

You can listen to the dispatch audio that was broadcast on the public police scanners. The shout that started it all, an injured deputy screaming code-99 into his radio.