Boise man Matthew Lehigh arrested, charged with arson, 3 counts aggravated assault

By Edward Era Barbacens

Since Lehigh's arrest investigators have added an additional charge of felony arson in relation to a flag-burning incident on October 4th.

On Wednesday, October 5th, Boise police officers took a report of a pride flag that was set on fire at a home on the 800 block of Brumback St. Officers obtained home security video and canvassed the surrounding neighborhood to determine if anyone witnessed the incident or had additional security video.

On Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 2:08 p.m., Boise Police responded to a report of a hit and run on the 1000 block of N. Americana Blvd.

Evidence showed a male driver yelled a threat and a homophobic slur at two women who were standing next to their vehicle.

The suspect intentionally drove his car at the women and they quickly moved out of the way. The suspect’s vehicle struck the victim’s vehicle, and the suspect fled the scene.

Officers immediately began searching for the suspect and his vehicle. Detectives from the Violent Crime Unit located the vehicle and the suspect in a parking lot on the 8200 block of W. Fairview Ave. around 4:30 p.m. The suspect was identified as Matthew Lehigh.

Detectives had been searching for Lehigh since he and his vehicle were involved in a similar incident on Saturday, Oct. 8 on the 700 block of S. Capitol Blvd.

Evidence showed the suspect hit a victim on the arm and used the same homophobic slur. A member of the business’ security staff followed the suspect into the parking lot. Evidence shows the suspect then intentionally drove his vehicle toward the security staff member forcing him to jump out of the way. The suspect then fled the scene.

After further investigation, Matthew Lehigh was arrested and booked into the Ada County Jail on the listed charges. Detectives are continuing to investigate as evidence shows Lehigh may be involved in other recent crimes targeting the LGBTQ+ community.