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Idaho probation officer resigns after fabricating threats against himself

By Heather Wells,
Idaho Falls Post Register

REXBURG, Idaho A Madison County juvenile probation officer who admitted to staging several threats against himself has resigned.

Lane Sommer quit Monday, the same day he was served with a warrant on misdemeanor charges of providing false information to law enforcement officers. Sommer immediately posted $500 bond. He faces up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

It is unclear when he will appear in court.

""It’s really unfortunate what happened, and we should all move on,"" Madison County Commissioner Ralph Robinson said Tuesday.

Kirk Mace, the director of the juvenile probation office, declined to comment, and efforts to reach Sommer on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Sommer told police someone shot at him while he was doing yardwork. Previously, he had reported someone left a threatening note on his vehicle and that a rock attached with a note was thrown through his office window.

Last week, he admitted he made it all up.

Sheriff’s deputies and Rexburg police officers had been investigating the attacks against Sommer since May 19 when he reported that a 6-foot-tall man wearing a black helmet drove by his Hibbard-area home on a motorcycle and shot at him.

Shortly afterward, the county offered a $20,000 reward, its largest ever, for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the shooter.

""We’re just very glad the case is over,"" Klingler said at a news conference last week.

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