Jury convicts man in shooting case

SANDPOINT — A Bonner County man was convicted Thursday of two counts of aggravated assault stemming from a gunfight in which he was shot.

A jury of 10 women and two men deliberated for about two hours before finding Richard Allen Larson guilty of both felony counts.

Larson’s trial in 1st District Court began on Monday.

Larson, 60, displayed no outward reaction to the verdicts when they were read aloud in court.

In light of the jury’s rulings, Bonner County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Shane Greenbank moved for Larson to be taken into custody and held in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Chief Public Defender Isabella Robertson objected, contending that her client unfailingly abided by pretrial orders while the case was pending.

“That would have been the time he walked away to avoid prosecution,” Robertson said.

She added that Larson owns property in Bonner County, has ties to the community and does not have a prior criminal record.

District Judge Steve Verby compromised and set bail at $30,000.

“Circumstances have changed,” Verby said, referring to the guilty verdicts.

A sentencing hearing date is pending. Larson faces up to five years in prison.

Greenbank said he planned to recommend a prison term for Larson, but declined to elaborate.

Larson was accused physically attacking Lora Adams, his former girlfriend, putting a .44-caliber revolver to her face and threatening to kill her. Adams’ current boyfriend, John Bilsky, interrupted the attack and told the jury that Larson opened fire on him.

Bilsky testified that he returned fire and struck Larson in the chest. Larson testified that Bilsky was the first to shoot.

The gun battle took place at a gate on Maker’s Way in the Pack River Valley on Feb. 9, 2011. At the time of the shooting incident, Larson and Adams were neighbors.

Larson told jurors he erected the cable gate to prevent unwanted incursions into the remote neighborhood. The state argued Larson put up the gate to create opportunities to speak with Adams because she had to get out of her vehicle to open it.

During his closing remarks to the jury, Greenbank said Larson learned Adams was moving out of the neighborhood and confronted her at the gate in a last-ditch effort to salvage the relationship.

“This was a case about the loss of control. I submit that that’s what we’ve shown. Mister Larson was losing control. He lost control of Ms. Adams,” said Greenbank.

Larson testified that Adams attacked him and was acting in self-defense, but Greenbank argued that Adams had no motive to attack him and Bilsky was the only party who was legitimately acting in self-defense.

Chief Public Defender Isabella Robertson countered that Adams had ample motive to attack Larson because he refused to accept her rejection of him. Robertson added that Larson was wearing insulated ski gloves and the weapon would have discharged if he had menaced Adams with the pistol in the manner in which she testified.

“He acted in self-defense,” said Robertson. “He did not threaten to kill either of them at any time. He did not shoot first.”

During his rebuttal, Greenbank cast doubt on the defense’s version of events.

“They had this planned? ‘Hey, when I come home I’m going to park at the gate and hopefully Mr. Larson is going to be there. I’ll keep him there, I’ll attack and then you come down and shoot him when he’s not looking.’ Is that reasonable? It is not,” Greenbank said.

After the verdicts were rendered, Bilsky noted that they came 400 days after the incident.

“As a high school science teacher, I’ve learned to be patient,” he said.

But Bilsky said his patience had never before been put to such a rigorous test.