Felony charges reinstated in assault case
SANDPOINT — Felony assault charges are being reinstated against a Bonner County man accused of threatening two people with a pistol near Oldtown.
Brandon Scott Cramer is accused of attacking two people near Oldtown and threatening them with a pistol on Oct. 17. One of the alleged victims, a 22-year-old man, said Cramer put the pistol to his head with one hand and used the other the land blows to his head, according to court documents.
He told the deputy that he did not fight back because he feared being shot in the face by Cramer, according to preliminary hearing testimony.
A 24-year-old woman said Cramer threw her against a stack of snowmobiles and a fence before allegedly menacing her with the firearm.
Cramer, 32, allegedly demanded to know the whereabouts of his brother and the alleged victims suspected Cramer thought they had been hiding him, hearing testimony indicates.
The 22-year-old reached Cramer’s brother by phone and handed the device to Cramer, who ultimately left the property.
However, Cramer’s defense counsel presented three alibi witnesses during a Nov. 8 preliminary hearing.
“Well, somebody came in here and told a lot of perjury,” Judge Justin Julian said during the hearing. “There’s no reconciling the two stories between the state’s witnesses and the defense’s witnesses. But I can’t tell who’s lying.”
Julian ultimately ruled that there was insufficient evidence to sustain the aggravated assault charges and dismissed them without prejudice. The nature of the dismissal enabled the state to refile them, which occurred on Thursday, court records show.
In addition to the felony assault charges, Cramer is also charged with two counts of misdemeanor battery and faces a sentencing enhancement for using a deadly weapon during the commission of the crime. If convicted of the underlying charges, 15 years would be added to each count.
A preliminary hearing on the revived charges is pending in Bonner County Magistrate Court.
Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.