COEUR d'ALENE - Felony charges of battery and eluding a police officer have been dismissed against a 24-year-old Butte man, though they could be re-filed, Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh said Thursday.

Mark M. Maykopet was injured Feb. 7 when he was shot by an Idaho State Police trooper near Hayden. Maykopet's wife, 40-year-old Christie Little, was shot and killed by the trooper, Cpl. Dan Howard.

Howard had been pursuing Maykopet's Jeep after initially making a traffic stop on the couple. Howard was told by a dispatcher that Maykopet was a fugitive and "high risk."

During a pursuit, Maykopet's Jeep rammed Howard's patrol car. Howard then fired the shots that killed Little and injured Maykopet.

McHugh said the incident scene is a complicated one.

"There's accident reconstruction work still going on," he said. "There was almost a head-on collision."

Once the investigation is complete, McHugh said he'll make a charging decision.

Maykopet is still in custody on Montana charges, he said.

"We had time to go ahead and complete it (the investigation)," McHugh said.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled, and it didn't make sense to have it until the investigation was completed, he said.

Howard stopped the couple on U.S. 95 and Ohio Match Road.

After another trooper responded to assist, Maykopet fled and the troopers pursued. The chase ended on Ramsey Road, south of Highway 53. The authorities said in police reports that two guns were found in the Jeep driven by Maykopet.