ST. JOHNS, Arizona — Bo Tyler Hounshell was arrested on Thursday morning, October 29, in St. Johns on felony allegations that he impersonated a sheriff's deputy using a county-owned truck that looked like an unmarked law-enforcement vehicle — the second arrest in two months for a man associated with Apache County's Office of Emergency Management and, according to Arizona's Family, the son of the county's former sheriff.

Source: Mountain Daily Star (Apache County booking records)

Hounshell was arrested by the St. Johns Police Department at approximately 10:20 a.m. at 400 S. 9th West in St. Johns, according to Apache County jail booking records reported by the Mountain Daily Star. His bail was set at $100,000 — described by Arizona's Family (KPHO) as a $100,000 cash bond.

Source: Arizona's Family / KPHO (AZFamily Investigates)

The four counts in the booking record

The booking record lists four counts across three offences, the Mountain Daily Star reported: two felony counts of impersonating a peace officer under Arizona Revised Statutes § 13-2411(A); one felony count of misconduct involving weapons under § 13-3102(A)(4); and one misdemeanour count of threatening and intimidating involving physical injury under § 13-1202(A)(1). All of these are allegations. Hounshell is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

What police reports allege he did

Police reports allege that Hounshell used his position with Apache County and a county-owned white Ford F-150 that resembled an unmarked law-enforcement vehicle to impersonate a sheriff's deputy, the Mountain Daily Star reported. In one allegation, he reportedly visited a woman's residence, identified himself as a sheriff, and attempted to persuade her to reconcile with her former husband, who was reportedly a friend of Hounshell. That account comes from police reports as summarised by the newspaper; it has not been tested in court.

A home search the day before — and an August arrest

On Wednesday, October 28, Arizona Department of Public Safety investigators reportedly searched Hounshell's residence and reportedly discovered paraphernalia, the newspaper reported. The October 29 booking record does not list any charges relating to that search, and this report does not link the two beyond what the record shows.

The latest arrest follows an earlier incident on August 28, 2026, when Hounshell was arrested after a traffic stop in St. Johns and was accused of aggravated DUI, endangerment and child abuse after allegedly driving a county vehicle with a young child inside, according to the Mountain Daily Star and Arizona's Family's earlier reporting. The child is not named here, in line with the protection owed to a minor.

Why a neighbouring county will prosecute

The Coconino County Attorney's Office will handle the case, both outlets reported — a step Arizona's Family said the office confirmed. That matters because of who Hounshell's family is locally: Arizona's Family reported that his father is no longer sheriff and is now the director of Apache County's Office of Emergency Management, and that his mother is the clerk of the Superior Court. Moving prosecution to a neighbouring county is the standard way to avoid even the appearance of a local conflict of interest. Hounshell himself has been associated with the Apache County Office of Emergency Management; his current employment status has not been confirmed.

Background: impersonating an officer is a felony in Arizona

Arizona law treats this offence seriously. In a July 2025 warning, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Governor's Office noted that A.R.S. § 13-2411 makes it a class 6 felony to impersonate a peace officer with the intent to induce another person to submit to or rely on that pretended authority, rising to a class 4 felony if it is done during the commission of another felony. The agencies advised anyone who suspects an impersonator to call 911 and to ask for authorised credentials, which real officers are required to carry.

For residents of small counties like Apache — and for Punjabi and other immigrant families in Arizona who may be stopped by someone claiming to be law enforcement — the practical lesson from the state's own guidance is simple: a genuine officer can always be verified through 911 or the agency's published number, and no real deputy settles a neighbour's family dispute at the front door.

What happens next

Hounshell remains subject to the $100,000 bond and to prosecution by the Coconino County Attorney's Office on the four booked counts, separately from the still-pending August allegations. No court date was given in the reports reviewed. Awaaz Punjab will follow the filings; the charges described above are allegations, and Hounshell is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.