Trial pending in shooting incident

SANDPOINT — A Bonner County woman is awaiting trial for allegedly firing a gun during a dispute with a neighbor earlier this year.

Patricia Ann Miller is charged with misdemeanor exhibition of a deadly weapon. Miller is pleading not guilty and a jury trial is scheduled for April 26, according to court records.

Miller, 61, is accused of shooting at Shawn Charles Cutting while he was using an all-terrain vehicle to plow snow on Meadowlark Lane south of Oldtown on Jan. 20. Cutting reportedly told a sheriff's deputy he heard gunshot zip past him as he passed Miller's home.

Cutting, 36, told a deputy he takes turns plowing the road with another neighbor. Miller said the road didn't need plowing and Cutting was driving by her home to harass her, the deputy's report said.

Miller and Cutting are embroiled in a long-running business and personal dispute, according to court records.

Miller denied shooting in the direction of Miller and said she fired her .38-caliber revolver in the ground to scare her dog away from the road so it wouldn't get hit by Miller's ATV, the report said.

Miller argued Cutting trespassed by using her driveway and accused him of disturbing the peace. Cutting was subsequently cited for those alleged offenses, court records show.