Second suspect in attack jailed

SANDPOINT — A second suspect in an alleged attack that fractured a Bonner County man’s skull has been taken into custody.

Jonathan Gary Howard is charged with aiding and abetting aggravated battery. Howard made an initial appearance on Tuesday in magistrate court, where Judge Lori Meulenberg sustained his $50,000 bail and ordered him to have no contact with the alleged victim, court records show.

Howard, 23, of Sagle, is retaining private defense counsel, according to court documents.

Charles Tyler Sprinkle, 34, of Sandpoint, is accused of attacking the 36-year-old victim from behind on Sept. 30. Howard, Sandpoint Police said, is accused of preventing the victim’s friend from intervening in the attack.

Under Idaho law, those who aid and abet a criminal offense are subject to prosecution of the offense and its punishment. Aggravated battery is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Sprinkle is being held in lieu of $100,000. A defense motion for him to be released on his own recognizance is pending.

A preliminary hearing in Sprinkle’s case is set for Sept. 18. Howard’s preliminary hearing is pending. The hearings will determine if trials in 1st District Court are warranted.

A motive for the attack has not been disclosed and police reports detailing the events that lead up to the incident remain absent from the defendants’ respective court files.

The are conflicting reports that the alleged victim and his drinking companion were asked to leave the 219 Lounge for being disruptive. The alleged attack occurred on Second Avenue, behind the popular downtown bar.

Howard was reportedly an off-duty bouncer at the bar when the incident occurred, according to Sandpoint Police.