Quarrel outside court triggers alarm

Three people who got into a loud argument outside a courtroom Tuesday got more than they bargained for when sheriff’s deputies and a police officer showed up.

Someone at the courthouse triggered a panic button, which promptly brought Sheriff Jeff Soyez, Undersheriff Larry Starkey, and deputies Aaron Christner and Jimmy Philpott across the street to the courthouse in response to the alarm.

Marion Interim Police Chief Zach Hudlin also drove to the courthouse, but by the time he arrived, everything was calm.

“It was an older couple and a guy probably in his 40s,” Hudlin said. “Somebody was getting a little loud outside the courtroom.”

Hudlin said he thought the dispute among Goessel-area residents was over property.