Hearing delayed in battery case

SANDPOINT - A preliminary hearing is being postponed for a man accused of ramming his sport utility vehicle into the entrance of a Ponderay lounge during an altercation with a bartender.

Shaun Lee Spencer is seeking private counsel to defend him against of charges of aggravated battery and drunken driving.

“We're actually going to hire an attorney,” Spencer told Judge Barbara Buchanan during a planned preliminary hearing on Wednesday.

During such a hearing, a judge determines if there's enough evidence to justify a trial on the charges. The hearing has been rescheduled for April 2.

Spencer, 30, of Ponderay, allegedly drove his Jeep Cherokee into the west entrance of the Hideaway Lounge at the Bonner Mall on March 1. Spencer reportedly told police he reacted after witnessing the bartender batter his girlfriend in the entrance.

The 28-year-old bartender was knocked back as much as 30 feet from the entrance in the collision and lost consciousness, according to a Ponderay Police report.

A supporter of Spencer's contacted The Daily Bee after the incident and insisted the bartender was the aggressor. She also disputed the nature of the injuries, and questioned the lack of charges against the bartender and the fairness of the justice system in Bonner County.

Claims of corruption resurfaced on Wednesday morning, when a family member of Spencer's accused Chief Public Defender Isabella Robertson of duplicity and being in league with the prosecution, according to a defense motion.

Robertson took issue with the aspersions cast on her integrity on Wednesday afternoon by asking that the court record reflect she was pulling out of the case.

“I would like to have my services withdrawn,” Robertson told Buchanan.