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AMMON, Idaho (KIFI) — A small group of alleged scammers is in custody after a traffic stop led to the arrests of five men and one woman accused of preying on multiple victims in parking lots across the state and the local area. The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office says the group successfully stole the credit card information of multiple victims and executed unauthorized money transfers under the guise of collecting charitable donations.

The arrests stemmed from reports of a group of men soliciting donations in local parking lots.

The Investigation Unfolds

On Thursday, October 30th, around 10 a.m., BCSO says their deputies responded to a call at the Hobby Lobby parking lot in North Ammon, reporting a small group of men were soliciting Venmo donations. This call came on the heels of a similar report the day before involving victims in the Target parking lot who claimed their credit card information was stolen by a group of African American men in a vehicle with an Oregon license plate.

While one group of deputies was handling the Hobby Lobby call, another deputy spotted the suspect vehicle just down the street on S 25th E, near the Target entrance. After initiating a traffic stop, the deputy smelled a wave of marijuana coming from the vehicle, which was occupied by five adult men, one adult woman, and a baby.

The deputy noticed the front passenger, Mario T. Sanders, 37, eating a green leafy substance. Deputies found containers of marijuana near Sanders’ seat, and he later admitted to ingesting a large amount, prompting a call for an ambulance for medical assessment.

The remaining passengers were detained while BCSO began a search of the vehicle. The search uncovered multiple items of drug paraphernalia, cell phones, printed flyers, and other items related to the scam activities. The driver, later identified as Deandre D. Houston, 32, was also found to have several Hydrocodone pills in his wallet.

Deceptive Fundraising Tactics

From the evidence they found in the vehicle and the victim’s reports, BCSO deputies quickly pieced together the group’s alleged scheme. The group had used fraudulent flyers promoting causes like “Autism Awareness” to win the trust of victims.

The flyers featured distressing stories and images—including one claiming a 5-year-old child was shot on his way to school—to support the “Jackson Family” or the “James Hoover Funeral Fund.”

BCSO reports that the group primarily targeted older women, convincing them to provide emails, phone numbers, and personal identifying information, and in some cases even assisting them with the electronic transaction to steal their information. Victims told deputies their financial transaction cards went missing and that unauthorized amounts of money had been transferred from their accounts via various cash apps.

Arrests and Charges

While on the scene, deputies discovered that the driver, Deandre D. Houston, had an active felony warrant from Williamson County, Illinois, for Felon in Possession of a Firearm. After being medically cleared, both Houston and Sanders were arrested and booked into the Bonneville County Jail.

The other men traveling with them were identified as 28-year-old Vontrel D. Rendles, 27-year-old Raymond S. Stokes, and 35-year-old Hollis P. Williams, all of Illinois. The remaining members of their group were arrested and charged with a Felony Fraudulent Use of a Financial Transaction Card.

 The adult woman and baby traveling with the group were released from the scene. Their identities have not been released at this time.

Public Safety Warning

The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office is urging anyone who may have been approached or victimized by this scam to contact the Sheriff’s Office immediately through dispatch at 208-529-1200 and ask to speak with a Deputy.

In a news release, SGT. Bryan Lovell reminded the public to be vigilant against such scams

“The Sheriff’s Office reminds everyone to keep their personal and financial information safe by monitoring accounts, changing passwords often, and utilizing security measures provided by your financial and online institutions,” writes SGT. Bryan Lovell. “Never provide this information to unverified entities or people and always be suspicious of fundraising causes and solicitations that can’t easily be vetted or researched.”

BLACKFOOT, Idaho (KIFI)—Drivers may want to avoid driving through Blackfoot Friday evening, as traffic has become a near standstill. The highway has been closed since Thursday night when a semi truck crashed into a pillar on the Riverton Road Bridge.

The Idaho Transportation Department reported Friday afternoon that they hope to open Interstate 15 between the Blackfoot exits by mid-Saturday morning.

ITD crews have been assessing the damage and working to shore up the bridge.

Traffic is being diverted from I-15 to Highway 91 between exits 89 and 93. The traffic has caused a significant delay through Blackfoot. Drivers are reporting to Local News 8 that it has been taking up to 2 hours to get between Idaho Falls and Pocatello.

ITD reported the bridge suffered structural damage, necessitating the immediate closure of the interstate for the safety of all drivers. At this time the extent, cost and timeline of repairs are unknown.

ITD is working to open the northbound lanes with one lane open in each direction.

“We have been working around the clock to restore the flow of traffic,” District Engineer Todd Hubbard said. “Early next week, we hope to have traffic restored to proper lanes, southbound I-15 will be reduced to one lane until a permanent fix can be made.”  

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI)—In a heartwarming display of community spirit, more than 50 volunteers came together to save the beloved pumpkin patch at Swore Farms from an early frost, rescuing thousands of pumpkins in a single day.

Every fall, Swore Farms becomes a seasonal hub for families and schoolchildren, offering a sprawling pumpkin patch and a popular corn maze. But this year, owner Wendy Swore faced a daunting challenge: a rainy week had delayed the harvest, and with frost looming, only a third of the farm’s 24,000 pumpkin plants had been cut from their vines — a crucial step to prevent rot.

“I put out the word on social media,” Swore said. “Within that day, over 50 people showed up and helped us cut nearly all 24,000 pumpkins off the vine. It was just amazing.”

The swift response from the community ensured the pumpkins were saved in time, preserving a cherished tradition for many local families. One volunteer shared, “Visiting Swore Farms has been a tradition in our family for years. When we heard they might lose their harvest, we didn’t hesitate to help. That’s what community does.”

Thanks to the rescue effort, Swore Farms was able to continue its annual “Pumpkin Fairy” tradition. For over a decade, the farm has distributed extra pumpkins to families and schools in need, accompanied by treats and a heartfelt poem reminding recipients that they are cared for and supported.

“This year, because of the help we received, we’ll be able to deliver pumpkins to about 6,750 students and staff,” Swore said. “It was a big miracle.”

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)—It was always a mystery to me how my World War II–era grandparents could walk into a dark basement and not bat an eye, whether it was the West Virginia farmhouse with a coal stove or a dirt-floor cellar somewhere in the South.  

After a couple of history degrees, I realized that until recently, it was function over form for the majority of American homes. So I started to wonder—did earlier generations even think basements were creepy? 

“I don’t think basements were ever designed to be creepy,” says Kristina Frandson, Curator at the Museum of Idaho.

She and her fellow Museum of Idaho anthropologist Camille Thomas met me at ‘Spook Central’, the 1915 home of historian Melissa Danielson-Zaladonis in the Idaho Falls Historic District, to figure out what makes a basement weird.  

“It is, like a cool and dark space that could have been used, depending on what era we’re talking about, for storing food because it’s cool and dry,” said Frandson. “Eventually, people put boilers down there—all sorts of different things.”

As those modern conveniences came along, so did the postwar onslaught of factory line, mass-produced “stuff.”

“Basements often, you know, people and our country especially—we collect things,” says Camille Thompson. “We store things in the basement, and so there’s also this element of—there’s old things.”

And in the case of Melissa’s 110 year old home, shoes. 

 “We found these in the dirt crawl space,” says Melissa. “We learned that it’s something of folklore or legend to bury shoes in your foundation of the house for good luck, so something is not always that scary, just folklore, how it evolves.”

Armed with that logic, our crew descended on the creepiest basement in town, being careful of steep stairs, wires, and an old iron boiler that greeted us almost head-on.

Kristina noted there are quite a few original boilers in downtown Idaho Falls buildings.

“Whatever heating unit they had is just left in the basement because it’s too hard to pull apart and take up,” she says.

If this heavy, rusted boiler were shiny, polished, and brand new, however, would it still be considered creepy?

If this were shiny and new—stainless steel, polished metal—would it be creepy?  

A resounding “no!” is the general consensus – “I think honestly, it would have been a flex,” said one member of our group.

Just a few feet to the left is the coal chute, made of a material that no creepy East Idaho basement could be without—lava rock.

“The lava rock is a good foundation, first of all, because it’s like it’s everywhere out here, obviously,” Kristina says. “And if you’re making a way for a house, you’re going to be moving that lava rock. And so it makes sense to use it in whatever capacity you can. Otherwise you have to cart it off somewhere. “

It’s about this point the outdated technology factor begins to track for this creepy basement.

For example, if you’ve never seen sheet rock, which wasn’t common until the 1950s, lava rock walls wouldn’t look creepy. However, to post-war eyes used to smooth drywall, that stone could feel almost otherworldly—like the knob-and-tube wiring we came across.

“When you go into an old basement,” says Camille.  “Maybe you’ll find black mold or shoddy wiring, old wiring that also adds to the scariness. Even though it’s a real-world problem, something is also scary. Yeah. Again, it’s just like all that unknown, you know?”

Delving even further into the unknown, we finally got a look at the crawlspace where Melissa’s husband found the shoes.

“I posted the shoes online,” Melissa says, “And everyone said, ‘You need to move… or put them back!’ ”  

Melissa isn’t putting them back—because she’s a historian, and historians know: when you misunderstand the past—whether it’s old shoes, lava rock, or a rusty boiler—it’s easy to think of them as creepy.