Two of the three people involved in a Valentine’s Day shooting and botched robbery in Chubbuck that left a local man seriously wounded were recently sentenced to serve nearly a combined two decades in prison.
During recent sentencing hearings at the Bannock County Courthouse in Pocatello, Sage Siler and Kane Simons, both age 20 and from Pocatello, were sentenced to serve several years in an Idaho Department of Correction prison. The third suspect in the shooting, McKinzee Kirkham, 21, of Inkom, was sentenced in June to serve five years of felony probation and complete the problem-solving court known as Wood Court.
Simons and Kirkham had pleaded guilty to one count of felony accessory to aggravated battery and Siler pleaded guilty last month to one count of felony aggravated battery for their roles in a robbery attempt gone wrong, which left 21-year-old Pocatello resident Joseph A. Aguirre with a gunshot wound that nearly killed him.
Judge Stephen S. Dunn sentenced Siler to serve 12 years in prison for shooting Aguirre. Siler must serve five years in prison before he is eligible for parole.
Judge Rick Carnaroli sentenced Simons to serve 5 years in prison for his role in the shooting. Simons is not eligible for parole until 2022.
Dunn also sentenced Kirkham to a prison sentence of five years, but suspended the prison time and imposed a sentence of five years of felony probation and ordered Kirkham to participate in the problem-solving court as a form of rehabilitation.
The three local offenders were sentenced in connection to the Feb. 14 Valentine’s Day incident that resulted in police initiating a nationwide manhunt for Simons, who authorities initially thought was the person who shot Aguirre.
The late night incident unfolded inside a vehicle in front of a home on the 4600 block of Ponderosa Street in Chubbuck and involved Siler, Simons and Kirkham concocting a plan that involved knocking Aguirre unconscious so that the trio could steal a previously stolen Sig Sauer .40-caliber pistol from Aguirre, according to police reports.
Siler, Simons and Kirkham planned to act like they were picking Aguirre up from the residence on Ponderosa Street so they could rob him of the pistol once he entered the vehicle, police said.
Simons, who was driving Kirkham’s silver Honda Accord with Kirkham and Siler in the back seat, planned to bash Aguirre over the head with a detachable steering wheel located inside the car hoping it would knock him out so that Kirkham or Siler could take the pistol, police said.
But once Aguirre entered the Honda and was in the front passenger seat, Kirkham Tased Aguirre before Simons could hit him with the detachable steering wheel, police said.
Siler, who was armed with a Ruger 9mm pistol, then fired two shots toward Aguirre, police said. One of the shots penetrated Aguirre in the upper back and traveled through his body, causing significant internal injuries to his lungs, diaphragm and colon before exiting through his abdomen and entering a tan backpack that he had on his lap, police said. The other bullet struck the front passenger dashboard of the Honda.
After Aguirre was shot, he lurched out of the car and reached for the .40-caliber Sig Sauer pistol attached to his waist in a holster, which caused Simons to speed away from the scene in the direction of West Chubbuck Road, police said.
The seriously wounded Aguirre then entered the home on Ponderosa Street and called the police to report the shooting. Aguirre knew the people at the home, police said.
Chubbuck police, Bannock County sheriff’s deputies and ambulance personnel responded to the scene.
Aguirre was transported via ambulance to Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello, where he underwent emergency surgery to save his life. Aguirre was released from the hospital a few days later.
An arrest warrant was issued for Simons, who was believed to be heavily armed and dangerous, following the initial police investigation.
After the shooting, Simons, Siler and Kirkham drove to Idaho Falls.
Siler and Kirkham then returned to the Pocatello area, while Simons wandered around various parts of Idaho Falls until he entered the Grand Teton Mall on Feb. 15 with other individuals and was recognized by mall security officers who alerted law enforcement, police said.
Bonneville County sheriff’s deputies arrested Simons after a brief foot pursuit outside the mall around 5 p.m. the day after the shooting.
During Simons’ arrest, other individuals with him also fled from the deputies and a high-speed vehicle pursuit ensued.
Police identified the four other individuals with Simons who were all eventually arrested as Olivia L. Yokoyama, 26, of Blackfoot, and Jared J. Cerino, 29; Hailey Farmer, 26; and Jerel Tillman, 25, all of Fort Hall.
Simons and Farmer were arrested in the mall parking lot after a brief foot pursuit and the other three suspects were arrested after the high-speed chase.
Siler told police that he disposed of the Ruger 9mm pistol in a random dumpster in Idaho Falls after the alleged shooting, adding that he couldn’t remember where the dumpster was located, police said.
Authorities have not said whether the Ruger 9mm pistol was ever recovered.
Police located Kirkham at the residence of a family member in Inkom two days after the shooting and arrested her.
Police arrested Siler on Feb. 17 in Pocatello. During questioning, he said it was never his intention to shoot Aguirre, police said.
Kirkham, Siler and Simons each faced attempted robbery charges in connection to the shooting, but those charges were dismissed as part of plea deals with Bannock County prosecutors.