New charge is added in shooting case

SANDPOINT — A second felony assault charge has been filed against a Sandpoint man accused of firing gunshots at people at the Elliott Hotel earlier this month.

Judge Barbara Buchanan ordered Homer James Shinn IV on Wednesday to undergo a mental health evaluation because of questions about his fitness to proceed in his criminal case.

Shinn was arrested on the morning of Aug. 17 after allegedly firing a .22-caliber rifle at 29-year-old man earlier that morning. Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Shane Greenbank filed an amended criminal complaint adding a second count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The new count accuses Shinn of opening fire at another man, 23, during the same incident.

A preliminary hearing in the case is pending while Shinn is evaluated. The state and the defense stipulated to the evaluation due to questions about Shinn’s ability to make informed decisions about his mental health treatment and assist in his own defense, according to court records.

Shinn, 19, was apprehended in a SWAT-style takedown at the long-term stay hotel in downtown Sandpoint. Police recovered two weapons, the .22-caliber rifle allegedly used in the shootings and a 12-gauge shotgun.

There were no injuries in either of the shooting incidents or during Shinn’s subsequent arrest. Shinn remains held in lieu of $100,000 bail.