Sagle murder trial postponed

SANDPOINT — A Sagle man’s trial on a charge of second-degree murder has been pushed back to this fall.

James Matthew Anderson’s eight-day jury trial was set to start next month in 1st District Court.

Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall and Chief Public Defender Isabella Robertson filed a stipulated motion this week calling for the trial to be postponed.

Robertson moved for the continuance so she could pore over recently provided discovery materials and prepare for trial, the motion said. Marshall said in the motion that an August trial setting would conflict with an Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association conference.

Anderson’s trial is now set for Oct. 13, according to court documents.

A hearing on Robertson’s motion to move the trial outside of Bonner County remains set for July 6, the same day Anderson is scheduled to argue a pro se motion for the appointment of new counsel.

Robertson maintains pretrial publicity has tanked Anderson’s chance of receiving a fair trial in Bonner County. Anderson, meanwhile, claims he is not being adequately represented by Robertson.

Anderson remains held at the county jail in lieu of $200,000 bail.

Anderson, 28, was charged in connection with the shooting death of Elvin “Eli” Holt on the night of Nov. 28, 2008. Holt, 30, was killed by a .44-caliber gunshot wound to the head.

The state alleges opened fire on Holt and the use of force was unjustified.

Anderson pleaded not guilty to the charge and has told investigators he shot Holt accidentally when Holt and another man violently confronted him outside his home on the Thanksgiving night.