Home-wrecking assault trial set Lunch time

SANDPOINT - A Bonner County landowner accused of razing a home while his tenants were still inside is maintaining his innocence.

Paul Fagerlie Finman pleaded not guilty to three counts of aggravated assault, clearing the way for a five-day jury trial in 1st District Court this fall. He entered the not guilty pleas on May 23.

Finman, a 56-year-old from Rathdrum, was ordered to stand trial following two days of preliminary hearing proceedings in magistrate court this spring.

Finman is accused of using a John Deere tractor to dismantle a home he owned on Vay Road in October of last year. Finman allegedly threw a rock through a sliding glass door before using a forklift attachment to tear holes in the structure.

A woman and her two children were in the home at the time and testified that they ran for their lives. There were no injuries.

The defense contends Finman was unaware his tenants were still inside because of reflective window tinting film on the windows and the tenants made no effort to advise Finman that they were inside.

Finman told sheriff's deputies he was demolishing the home to forestall its use as a domicile for squatters.

Judge Barbara Buchanan found there was sufficient evidence to justify a trial because Finman allegedly told a deputy a heard voices inside the home after flinging the rock. Moreover, there were clothes hanging to dry, bicycles and other items which indicated the home had not yet been vacated.