On May 2, 2020, shortly after 11:00 p.m., Idaho Falls Police Officers responded to an address on River Parkway for a report of a man near the caller’s vehicle. The caller informed dispatch that she had an active Civil Protection Order against the man that she could now see near her vehicle from where she was inside a nearby building.
When officers arrived the man, identified as Robert Smith, was found sitting in the driver’s seat of the victim’s vehicle. When contact by officers, Smith acknowledged being previously served with the CPO and admitted to being aware that it was active. Smith was detained and Mirandized. Smith told officers that he had ridden his bicycle from where he was staying in Rigby to the address with the intention of seeing the victim.
Officers interviewed the victim who was visibly upset by the situation, crying and shaking. When officers told the victim that Smith had been located and was in handcuffs, she cried and thanked the officers. The victim showed officers her phone and hundreds of text messages from Smith from that day. The messages included photos of Smith in the victim’s vehicle, and a wide variety of other messages including threatening messages.
Robert Smith, a 49-year-old Idaho Falls resident, was arrested for First Degree Stalking, Burglary, Unlawful Entry, and Telephone Harassment and was taken to the Bonneville County Jail.
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