Murder trial to stay put

SANDPOINT — A Sagle man awaiting trial for second-degree murder is withdrawing his motion for a change of venue in his case.

Chief Public Defender Isabella Robertson rescinded the motion at the request of the defendant, James Matthew Anderson. She did not elaborate on Anderson’s wishes regarding the motion.

The motion was scheduled to be heard Monday in 1st District Court, but Robertson requested late last month that it be stricken from the court’s calendar.

Robertson sought a change of venue due to extensive pretrial publicity about Anderson’s case, raising concern that it could affect the ability to seat an impartial jury.

Anderson’s eight-day jury trial is planned to start on Oct. 13. It was originally set for this summer, but Robertson moved to postpone the proceedings due to recently disclosed discovery materials and the need for an “extensive defense investigation.”

Anderson is charged with the shooting death of Elvin “Eli” Holt on Nov. 27, 2008. The killing occurred outside Anderson’s former trailer home at the Travel America RV Park on the night of Thanksgiving.

Holt, 30, died of gunshot wound to the head.

Anderson has asserted Holt and another man showed up on his doorstep unannounced and attacked him. Anderson maintains the .44-caliber pistol discharged accidentally when he brandished it in an attempt to convince the men to leave.

State’s witnesses contend the confrontation with Anderson was not physical.

The state argues Anderson’s use of force was unjustified and initially sought a charge of first-degree murder. A judge later downgraded the charge on grounds there was insufficient evidence to show Anderson acted with premeditation.

Anderson was apparently confronted in retaliation for a battery he allegedly perpetrated on a person friend of Holt’s a couple of months earlier.

Anderson, 29, remains held at the Bonner County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bail.