POCATELLO — A 53-year-old local man was arrested this week after police say he pointed a handgun at a man while searching for a woman he had been stalking, an incident that unfolded on a city street and was witnessed by multiple bystanders.

Michael Wayne Hill, of Fort Hall, has been charged with felony aggravated assault and felony first-degree stalking following a Pocatello Police Department investigation, according to police and court records the Idaho State Journal recently obtained.

The incident began to unfold around 6:24 p.m. on May 16 when Pocatello police were dispatched via 911 to a weapons offense at a city address. Officers responding to the scene spoke with multiple witnesses who described watching a man produce a handgun from inside a white Chevy Silverado and point it at two men on the sidewalk.

According to court records, Hill had shown up at a man’s home looking for a woman, identified only as a victim in the stalking case. The man went outside to confront Hill, and that is when Hill, while sitting in the Chevy and using his left hand, raised a handgun and pointed it at the man. The man told police he was afraid Hill was going to shoot him.

Two witnesses on the sidewalk of a nearby street also told police they watched Hill raise the handgun and point it toward the man before Hill quickly drove out of the area at high speed. A third witness, a woman who lives near the intersection where the incident occurred, told police she watched from her apartment as Hill pointed a gun at the two men on the street before driving away eastbound.

Later that evening, officers administered a photo lineup to an additional witness at the Pocatello Police Department. The witness, after viewing six sequential photographs, said the person in one picture looked like the man he saw fire a gun at the truck and said he was 80 percent sure of the identification. That photo was confirmed to be Hill, according to court records.

The stalking charge stems from a pattern of conduct police say Hill had been engaged in for weeks prior to the May 16 incident. The man Hill is accused of pointing a gun at told police Hill had been following the woman around and stalking her. Officers reviewed prior reports and found that as of April 22, Hill had been reported to be stalking the woman, driving by locations where she was staying and going door-to-door asking for her.

The woman told police Hill threatens her, takes her keys and phone, and blocks her from leaving. She said Hill “comes and finds me and screws with people if I don’t go with him,” according to court records. She confirmed a prior incident in which Hill found her and was waving a wooden board around, which made her feel nervous. She told officers she has been trying to avoid Hill but that he continues to find her at different houses.

During the investigation, officers discovered Hill was in possession of the woman’s driver’s license and debit card at the time of his arrest. The woman confirmed Hill was not supposed to have those items and said he had taken them and shoved them down his pants when she asked for them back.

On May 17, officers located Hill and informed him he was under arrest for first-degree stalking and aggravated assault. Hill denied having a handgun and denied pointing one at anyone. He was placed in handcuffs, searched and transported to the Bannock County Jail in Pocatello.

The state has also put Hill on notice that it will seek a persistent violator enhancement based on his prior felony convictions, which could extend any prison sentence levied against him by five years to up to life in prison.

Hill appeared before 6th District Magistrate Judge David A. Hooste for an arraignment hearing on Monday where his bond was set at $10,000.

He is scheduled to appear in court again on June 1 for a preliminary hearing. Prosecutors will attempt to present sufficient evidence to elevate the case from magistrate to district court for trial.

If convicted of both felony charges filed against him, Hill faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.