Hearings set in shooting case
SANDPOINT — Preliminary hearings are pending for two men accused of opening fire on teen anglers fishing the Priest River earlier this month.
Eric Rampton Wood is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawfully discharging a firearm at an occupied vehicle and misdemeanor malicious injury to property. Leo Michael Inwood is charged with destruction of evidence, discharging a firearm at an occupied vehicle and malicious injury to property.
The collection of charges result from a Sept. 13 incident off West Settlement Road. Bonner County sheriff’s officials said two 13-year-olds were fly fishing the river when gunshots were fired in their direction. Gunshots struck a motorized scooter they rode to the fishing spot.
When the shooting relented, they mounted the moped and one of the teens was struck in the leg by gunfire.
Wood, a 52-year-old from Kalispell, Mont., told investigators he had no involvement in the shooting, but later admitted firing a .357-caliber pistol and a 12-guage, according to a probable cause affidavit. Wood said he was intoxicated at the time of the shooting and told investigators he was unaware that he was firing on a scooter or that there were people nearby.
Inwood, a 42-year-old Bonner County resident, also denied involvement, but subsequently admitted gathering up the firearms and leaving the scene, court records indicate.
Wood is barred from possessing firearms due to a 1997 conviction in Washoe County, Nev., for burglary, court documents state. The state also amended the criminal complaint to prosecute Wood as a persistent violator because of the burglary conviction and 2006 felony conviction for failing to support a spouse or child.
If convicted of latest offenses, Wood faces a sentencing enhancement that could add five years to life to the penalties imposed on the underlying charges.
Inwood is free on a $30,000 bond while the case is pending. Wood remains held at that Bonner County Jail. Wood is being held at the Bonner County Jail in lieu of $30,000 bail.
Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.