Kellogg man pleads not-guilty to kidnapping

WALLACE –– A Kellogg man pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree kidnapping on Monday morning in Shoshone County District Court. 

Appearing before Judge Barbara Duggan, 55-year-old Derek Furman pleaded not guilty to six charges stemming from an incident in December of last year where he allegedly held his girlfriend and her minor teenage son against their will, as well as engaging in a violent altercation with both of them. 

According to the probable cause affidavit, Kellogg Police Officer Dameon Groves responded to an open 911 call from a home in Kellogg, where dispatchers had heard active screaming and believed a domestic dispute was in progress. 

When Groves arrived, the minor was outside the home screaming for help and there were still screams coming from inside the residence. As Groves entered the home, a visibly injured Furman told him to stay out, and when Groves requested that he exit the home, Furman told him no and then shoved him. Furman was then instructed to get on the ground, to which he continued to resist until Groves threatened to use his taser on him. Once Furman was in custody and had his rights read to him, Groves located the female victim lying on the ground screaming for help. 

According to statements made by both victims to the police during the investigation, Furman had allegedly been woken up by his girlfriend after falling asleep on the living room couch – this angered Furman, who was, allegedly, also intoxicated at the time of the incident. He allegedly then pushed her into a closet in their bedroom and began choking her. Her son heard the screams and went into the room and witnessed Furman choking his mother. The minor then attempted to fight Furman off of her which led to the female victim attempting to break them up. 

According to the PCA, the female victim was allegedly pinned to the ground by Furman, who told her that he was going to kill her.

The female victim escaped briefly and went for her pistol but Furman stopped her by allegedly grabbing a handful of her hair – it was at that time that Groves arrived at the home and announced his presence. 

During the incident, both victims alleged that Furman wouldn’t let them leave and that he had taken the phone away from the minor to prevent him from calling 911, potentially unaware that the call had been made and the line was open. 

Furman was taken into police custody and booked at the Shoshone County Jail. Following the booking, Groves listened to the open 911 call, where he was able to hear Furman telling his female victim that she was “Lucky I don’t do worse,” and that he would, “throw her in a f***ing hole.” Throughout the recording Groves reportedly could hear both the minor and female victim begging Furman to stop, followed by Furman allegedly mocking their pleas. Groves also reported what he believed to be Furman laughing at the victims. 

Furman was charged with four felonies including two counts of second-degree kidnapping, one count of domestic battery with traumatic injury, and battery on a law enforcement officer. Two misdemeanor charges were included; injury to a child and intentional destruction of a telecommunication line. In Idaho, any situation where a person is detained against their will, but the detainer does not demand a ransom is considered second-degree kidnapping. 

Each of the kidnapping charges comes with a potential maximum charge of 25 years imprisonment, the domestic battery charge carries a potential maximum of 10 years imprisonment, and the battery on a law enforcement officer carries a maximum of five years imprisonment. The misdemeanors charges carry maximum penalties of six months for the destruction of a telecommunications device charge and one year for the injury to a child charge. 

By entering a not-guilty plea, Furman’s case will now head to a jury trial, which is expected to be scheduled before July 11 of this year.