Idaho man allegedly killed uncle with electric flyswatter, pepper spray amid argument over $600 loan
09/04/2026 9:00 am PDT
POCATELLO, Idaho (TCN) -- A 44-year-old man has been charged with second-degree homicide in connection with the death of his uncle amid an ongoing alleged dispute over a loan.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the Post Register, police were dispatched to a home after Joshua Scoffield called to report that he believed his father, 68-year-old Jeffery Scoffield, was dead following an argument with the elder Scoffield’s nephew.
Responding police officers found Jeffery Scoffield deceased in a chair in the living room. There was reportedly pepper spray residue in the air, per the probable cause affidavit.
Joshua Scoffield alleged his cousin Andrew Scoffield texted him to tell him he had killed Jeffery Scoffield with an electric flyswatter, per the affidavit obtained by the Post Register.
Andrew Scoffield told police he had been living with his uncle and that their relationship had gone downhill due to a $600 loan. Scoffield had reportedly borrowed the sum from his uncle two weeks prior to the killing and they had been fighting since. He claimed he pepper-sprayed his uncle and hit him in the head with an electric flyswatter on Aug. 30, according to the affidavit.
East Idaho News reports Andrew Scoffield allegedly said he used methamphetamine in the weeks before the killing. In the days leading up to the incident, he was allegedly behaving erratically, according to neighbors, WKRC reports.
Andrew Scoffield was arrested and charged with second-degree homicide. His bond was set at $1 million at his arraignment on Aug. 31, according to the Post Register. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Sept. 14 for a preliminary hearing.
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