Gunshot fired during altercation
SANDPOINT — An Athol woman was arrested Saturday for firing a hunting rifle at a man during an argument east of Spirit Lake.
Kelly Sue Anderson, 47, is charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon and misdemeanor battery. She made an initial appearance on Monday in magistrate court via videoconferencing with the Bonner County Jail.
Judge Debra Heise set Anderson’s bail at $11,000 and appointed a public defender to represent her, court records show. Heise also entered an order forbidding Anderson from having any contact with the alleged victim, 56.
Bonner County sheriff’s deputies were summoned to a home off St. Joe Drive after dispatchers in Kootenai County received an open-line 911 call from the residence shortly before 9 p.m. Deputies encountered Anderson, who appeared to be intoxicated and said there was a verbal altercation with some shoving, according to a probable cause affidavit. The alleged victim was not present, prompting deputies to depart.
Deputies were summoned back to the home after the alleged victim told dispatchers that Anderson opened fire with a rifle and punched him in the face, the affidavit said.
The man said he disarmed Anderson and smashed the rifle, a Winchester Model 70 .30-06. Deputies recovered the broken pieces of the gun and noted the presence of a bullet through the wall of the home, the affidavit said.
Anderson told deputies that the man physically attacked her and denied shooting at him. She said the rifle discharged accidentally, the affidavit said.
Anderson pleaded guilty to misdemeanor injury to a child in a 2009 Bonner County case, according to the Idaho Supreme Court Data Repository.
In a 2010 Kootenai County case, Anderson was charged with battery and pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disturbing the peace, the repository indicates.
In the latest case, Anderson faces a sentencing enhancement for using a firearm during the commission of a felony, court records show. If convicted, the enhancement would add 15 years to her underlying sentence.