BUHL • A 48-year-old Buhl man was arrested early Sunday after allegedly pointing a rifle at his sister while his blood-alcohol level was at 0.5 — more than six times the legal limit to drive and a level that potentially can cause lethal alcohol poisoning.
John Martin Novak also apparently had tried to perform surgery on himself, police reported.
About 12:30 a.m., police and Twin Falls County deputies went to a home on 4200 North east of Buhl, where a woman told them she had taken a rifle from her brother, who was covered in blood.
Police gave this report:
The woman said Novak wanted to show her his new rifle, but when she saw a fixed-blade knife attached to its end, she told him to be careful
"No, I got this to hurt you guys for not leaving me alone," Novak said, turning the gun toward her.
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When police arrived, they had her step behind some trees while they searched the house for Novak. The door was blocked by a dresser and a piece of wood. The sliding-glass door was shattered, and two empty vodka bottles were in the broken glass.
The Buhl officer spotted blood on the ground, and then officers found more blood at the back door.
They asked Novak to come out, but he said he wasn't going anywhere. Seeing him in bed, officers approached. A deputy asked him to get out of bed, then realized the man was so intoxicated that he could hardly move.
As they handcuffed Novak, he told them he was going to urinate on himself. Instead, he defecated. Officers helped him out of the house, and paramedics took over.
Officers had seen wounds on the side of his face and an apparent broken nose. Novak said someone had beat him up.
At the hospital, medical staff began working to get Novak's alcohol level down. As he sobered up, Novak said he’d tried to perform his own sinus surgery, needed for a snoring problem. He said he purposely consumed a lot of alcohol to try to dull the pain.
"He described that he stuck two straws up his nose and was attempting to break his own nose using a door that he would open rapidly and impact his face," the police report says.
Novak told one deputy he'd been drinking for a week straight before he attempted the surgery.
After being medically cleared, Novak was booked into jail. His bail was set at $30,000. A preliminary hearing was set for May 16.
