Anderson sentencing is postponed

SANDPOINT — A sentencing hearing in a Sagle murder case was postponed Tuesday so the defense could develop a response to unflattering information the state intended to bring up during the hearing.

James Matthew Anderson’s sentencing for second-degree murder was reset for Feb. 12. Chief Public Defender Isabella Robertson moved for the continuance upon being notified the state intended to use the information to portray Anderson in an unfavorable light. Robertson argues the information is irrelevant to the case at hand.

Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall said the information involves a domestic violence charge from Texas in 2002.

Anderson, 30, was accused of battering a former fiancee and two other women during an domestic dispute in Conroe, Texas. That information was not used against Anderson when he was tried in 1st District Court last October.

A Bonner County jury convicted Anderson of murder for the shooting death of Elvin “Eli” Holt on Nov. 27, 2008. Jurors concluded Holt’s killing was unjustified.

Robertson is moving for Anderson to be retried because of a lapse in the jury’s instructions, according to court documents. Robertson argues the instructions did not define justifiable homicide or self-defense, or identify any lesser offenses until after jurors had settled the question of murder.

A hearing on the defense motion is planned for March 1.