Local man sentenced for slicing teen with utility knife
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AMMON – An Ammon man was sentenced to probation and a brief jail sentence Wednesday after attacking a teenager with a utility knife.
Devin Wade Miner, 47, was sentenced to between two and 14 years in prison by District Judge Bruce Pickett. However, the judge suspended the prison sentence and placed Miner on supervised probation for a period of 14 years.
Miner originally pleaded not guilty to felony aggravated battery. Later, he accepted a plea agreement, where he agreed to plead guilty to the charge in exchange for the prosecution agreeing to impose 60 days at the local jail, which may be served on work release if Miner has a job. The state also agreed to recommend two to 14 years in prison with credit for time served in jail.
As part of his probation, Miner will be required to obtain an anger evaluation, complete 100 hours of community service, and undergo substance abuse evaluation, counseling, and/or treatment. He was also given 180 days of discretionary jail time which can be imposed if his probation officer deems it necessary.
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On Nov. 30, 2021, The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call at an Ammon home around 12:30 a.m. after Miner said three people were armed and breaking into his home.
According to a news release from the sheriff’s office, dispatch could hear Miner saying, “Don’t move or I will cut you.” He then hung up the phone.
As deputies drove to the scene, another person called dispatch saying they could hear screaming and saw people running towards Walmart and CAL Ranch off of Hitt Road.
In the street, deputies found a 15-year-old boy with a severe knife wound to his leg.
To stop the bleeding, deputies used a tourniquet and first aid until the Idaho Falls Fire Department could take him to EIRMC in critical condition. Court records stated the teen was likely to lose the use of his leg because of the injury. It is unclear what the condition of the boy’s leg is now.
Idaho Falls police officers and deputies then set up a perimeter and found two teen boys, 16 and 17 years old, and a 14-year-old girl, in the area. All three teens were runaways and associated with a stolen vehicle from Madison County found near Walmart.
During their investigation, deputies learned the teens went into Miner’s backyard, claiming they ran from someone who threatened them at Walmart. While in the backyard, Miner confronted the teens saying he would call the police.
When the teens began running, Miner started yelling at them to stop. The teen with the leg injury told police that Miner used a knife to cut the back of his leg while he was trying to climb a fence and run. Miner’s first version of events differed from the teens.
He initially told police he thought the teens were trying to break into his garage and the teen got hurt on the fence.
Eventually, Miner admitted to cutting the teen with a knife. Miner said his anxiety was high and he felt the people in his backyard were “tweakers.”
“Miner told me that this situation could have been handled better and that he should not have gone into his backyard to confront (the teens),” a deputy writes in a report. “Upon learning that he had likely caused an irreparable, life-altering injury to a juvenile, Miner became extremely upset and told us ‘I’m sorry.’”
The sheriff’s office reports they could not find any evidence the teens were armed or had tried to get into Miner’s home.
Deputies arrested Miner for felony aggravated battery and booked him into the Bonneville County Jail. He appeared in court that same day, where a no-contact order was issued, and Miner posted a $15,000 bail.