Questions outpace answers in shooting

SANDPOINT — The investigation into a shooting which gravely injured a Bonner County man last week continues, said Deputy Prosecutor Shane Greenbank.

Richard A. Larson was shot during a dispute in the Upper Pack River Valley on the night of Feb. 9, according to the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office.

John Chester Bilsky was arrested on suspicion of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, but the state deferred the filing of a criminal charge in order to further investigate the matter.

Bilsky, a 58-year-old from Union Dale, Pa., was released on his own recognizance while Larson, 59, recovered at an area hospital.

No further information about the incident has been released and Greenbank said he is prevented from discussing the case because the investigation is ongoing.

In the shooting’s aftermath, Friends and family questioned Bilsky’s release, the sheriff’s office disclosure of where Larson was being treated and The Daily Bee’s publication of that information.

Because no charges were brought, there was no opportunity for a judge to enter a no-contact order. The alleged victim, however, can petition the court for a civil protection order.

It remains unclear when, or even if, Bilsky will be charged in connection with the shooting.

“Until I get the last part of the investigation done, I’m not going to know exactly what’s going to happen,” Greenbank said on Wednesday.

The lack of solid information about the case is creating a void which is filling with unconfirmed reports indicating Larson used to date Bilsky’s current girlfriend and there was an ongoing dispute over road access which led up to the shooting on Makers Way.

Those who claim to have knowledge of the situation but decline to speak on the record also suggest Larson was armed during the confrontation.

Larson and his purported former girlfriend, 44, are both party to a sealed civil case, a possible indication that a protection order was pending between the two. The case file cannot be accessed by the public, however.

Bonner Dispatch records indicate that deputies have been summoned to the neighborhood where the shooting took place at least nine times in the past year to investigate reports of civil disputes, trespassing and harassment.