SANDPOINT — A Bonner County man imprisoned threatening his former girlfriend with a pistol and engaging in a gunbattle with her boyfriend is seeking post-conviction relief.

Richard Allen Larson was convicted of two counts of aggravated assault in connection with the 2011 confrontation in the Upper Pack River Valley.

He was accused of attacking the woman as she passed through a gate, pressing the muzzle of a .44 magnum to her face and threatening to kill her.

The woman’s boyfriend arrived at the gate a short time later and Larson allegedly opened fire on him. The boyfriend returned fire with a .357 magnum, striking Larson in the chest.

Larson survived the shooting and testified at trial that his former girlfriend attacked him and her boyfriend was the one who opened fire first.

A jury convicted Larson of the felony assault charge and he was ordered to serve consecutive two- to five-year terms.

Larson, 64, argues in his petition for post-conviction relief that prosecutorial misconduct was committed during his trial and that he received ineffective assistance from counsel.

Larson alleges Chief Deputy Prosecutor Shane Greenbank introduced inadmissible, altered evidence in the form of a photo showing a beer can sitting on a fender of an ATV where the altercation took place. Larson contends a deputy testified taking the photo after setting the beer can on the fender, which amounted to altered evidence.

“The prosecutor was responsible for knowing this information and allow it in was misconduct,” Larson said in a 29-page petition filed on May 2.

Larson further contends that a lay witness was improperly allowed to offer expert testimony regarding ballistic evidence in the case.

Larson maintains his due-process right to vigorous and zealous defense was trampled because former Chief Public Defender Isabella Robertson persuaded him to waive his right to a preliminary hearing, in which he would have learned of the state’s intention to introduce expert testimony. Larson also contends Robertson coerced him into testifying and argues her direct examination of him on the stand was more akin to a cross-examination.

Larson is serving his sentence at the Idaho State Correctional Center in Kuna, according to the Idaho Department of Correction. He becomes eligible for parole on Monday, although a parole hearing is not scheduled until December 2017, according to the IDOC website.