Witness accounts describe days of conflict involving a four-wheeler before a fight inside a Park Avenue home ended with one man dead.
POCATELLO, Idaho — In the days before Jeffery Scott Scoffield died, neighbors told police they had noticed worsening tension around the Pocatello home he shared with his nephew, including erratic four-wheeler riding, shouted profanities and disputes over vehicle tires.
Those neighborhood observations became part of the background to an Aug. 30 confrontation that ended with Jeffery, 68, dead in a living room chair and his nephew, Andrew Shane Scoffield, 44, under arrest. Pocatello police said a family dispute had escalated into a physical fight. According to a probable cause affidavit reported by East Idaho News and the Idaho State Journal, Andrew later told investigators he used pepper spray during the struggle and struck or threw a large electric flyswatter at his uncle’s head. Prosecutors charged Andrew in a case described in local court reporting as second-degree homicide or second-degree murder.
A neighbor’s account suggests the conflict had become visible outside the home before police were called. The neighbor told investigators that Andrew had been riding a four-wheeler around the area while yelling profanities and behaving erratically. East Idaho News reported that the neighbor also saw Andrew let air out of a tire on Jeffery’s vehicle, a detail police said they confirmed. Other reports said Jeffery had deflated tires on Andrew’s ATV after complaints about the riding. The reports do not establish a single, agreed sequence for every tire-related incident, but they show vehicles had become another point of friction between the relatives.
Inside the house, Andrew said the deeper dispute involved money and the terms of living together. He told detectives he had stayed with Jeffery for several months and had borrowed about $600 from him roughly two weeks before the death. Andrew claimed the relationship changed after the loan, with Jeffery insulting him, referring to him as “his maid,” threatening him and cutting power to the basement area where he slept. The affidavit records Andrew’s version of events; the available reports do not show that those allegations about Jeffery were independently verified.
By Aug. 30, Andrew said he was preparing to leave. He told police he was gathering belongings when Jeffery came home and an argument began. According to Andrew’s statement, Jeffery shoved him against a door frame and later picked up an aluminum bat. Andrew said he used pepper spray, and the men fought on the floor. He told detectives he sprayed Jeffery again and used a large electric flyswatter, which hit Jeffery in the head. Andrew said his uncle then fell back into a chair and appeared to be gasping for breath.
The person who next entered the story was Jeffery’s son, Joshua Scoffield. Joshua told police he had received a missed call from Andrew, followed by a text in which Andrew indicated that he thought he may have killed Jeffery with an electric flyswatter. Joshua tried calling his father and got no response. He went to the Park Avenue house, found Jeffery unresponsive and attempted CPR until emergency crews arrived. Police were dispatched at about 3:15 p.m. and later announced that what they had first described as a suspicious death was being investigated as a homicide.
Officers said the scene raised questions about Andrew’s account. They found Jeffery seated in the living room with a large amount of pepper spray residue nearby, according to the affidavit. Police also said physical evidence did not fully match what Andrew had told them, though public reports did not detail every point of disagreement. That leaves an important distinction between the defendant’s narrative and the government’s evidence: Andrew described how he said the fight unfolded, while investigators indicated they believed at least some parts of that description required further scrutiny.
Andrew told police that after leaving the home he went to a friend’s residence and washed off pepper spray. Officers located him later that evening. A Pocatello Police Department statement said he was taken into custody and booked into the Bannock County Jail at about 10 p.m. Police said no additional arrests were expected. By the following day, the case had moved from a neighborhood death investigation to a felony homicide prosecution carrying the possibility of a lengthy prison sentence.
The precise cause of Jeffery’s death was not settled in the initial detailed reporting. The Idaho State Journal said police believed pepper spray may have affected his breathing and proved fatal, and an autopsy was scheduled in Ada County. Other reports emphasized the electric flyswatter because Andrew said it struck Jeffery’s head immediately before Jeffery fell back into the chair. Both details appear in the same police narrative. The reliable sources reviewed for this article did not provide a confirmed final autopsy result, so it remains unclear from the public material whether one action, both actions or another medical factor was determined to be the direct cause.
That uncertainty also matters when evaluating the most sensational part of the case. The phrase “electric flyswatter” can dominate a headline because it is unusual, but the affidavit describes a broader confrontation involving pepper spray, an alleged bat, physical grappling and reported breathing distress. The legal question is not which object sounds most striking. Prosecutors would have to establish that Andrew committed the charged offense and that his conduct caused Jeffery’s death with the mental state required by Idaho law. Andrew remains presumed innocent unless and until guilt is established in court.
Andrew appeared by video from jail for an Aug. 31 arraignment before 6th District Magistrate Judge David A. Hooste. Prosecutors asked for a $1 million bond, and published reports said bond was set at that amount. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Sept. 14. At a preliminary hearing, the issue is whether there is enough evidence for a felony prosecution to continue, not whether guilt has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The reliable sources located for this report did not confirm what happened at the scheduled hearing or provide a verified later court date.
If Andrew is ultimately convicted of second-degree murder, Idaho law provides for at least 10 years in prison and permits a sentence up to life. Initial local reporting also cited a possible fine of up to $50,000. Sentencing provisions do not tell the public how a pending case will end, and the bond amount likewise is not evidence of guilt. Andrew was represented by a public defender in the initial proceedings. Courtroom Insider reported that the Idaho State Public Defender’s Office does not comment on pending cases, and no fuller defense statement was found in the reliable material reviewed.
The affidavit also states that Andrew told police he had used methamphetamine in the weeks before Jeffery’s death. That disclosure sits alongside neighbors’ descriptions of erratic conduct, but the reports do not establish that Andrew was intoxicated during the fight or that drug use caused it. Police have not publicly reduced the case to one motive. Instead, the available record points to several sources of friction: the loan, the shared home, allegations about electricity and chores, the planned move, arguments over vehicles and the confrontation that Andrew said became physical.
Seen from the neighborhood outward, the case developed in stages: visible disputes in the days before Aug. 30, a confrontation inside the house, a warning text to a family member, a death investigation and then a homicide charge. What remains missing is just as important. As of Oct. 19, 2026, the sources reviewed did not reliably confirm the final autopsy conclusion, the specific scene discrepancies police cited or the outcome of the scheduled Sept. 14 preliminary hearing. Those unanswered points leave the public record incomplete even as the central allegation remains serious.
Author note: Last updated October 19, 2026.