SANDPOINT — Criminal proceedings are resuming against a Blanchard man accused of badly wounding two Bonner County sheriff’s deputies earlier this year.

Adam Deacon Foster’s fitness to proceed in the attempted first-degree murder case against him was drawn into question after his defense counsels advised the court their client appeared to be struggling with separating reality from fantasy.

Foster, 31, underwent a mental health evaluation and was found to be dangerously mentally ill and unable to assist in his own defense, according to court documents. He was being held at an Idaho Department of Correction secure medical facility in Boise.

Bonner County Magistrate Court Judge Tera Harden extended Foster’s stay at the facility in June, although she noted during a status conference on Thursday that Foster has been found fit to proceed in the case, court records show.

A preliminary hearing to determine if the state possesses enough evidence to justify trying Foster in 1st District Court is set for Aug. 9. He’s charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder.

Those charges flowed from an alleged ambush perpetrated by Foster outside his Mountain View Road in Blanchard on Jan. 16. Three deputies went to Foster’s home in order to arrest him on warrant in a misdemeanor battery case after he made death threats and vowed to kill police if any stood in his way in carrying out his threat, according to court documents.

Deputies William T. Craffey, Michael Gagnon and Justin Penn confronted Foster, but he ended up bolting around the side of his house and opened fire on them when the deputies came into his view, according to probable cause hearing testimony.

Gagnon, 53, and Penn, 30, were struck by incoming rounds fired by Foster’s .357 magnum revolve, but managed to return fire and wound Foster, who surrendered without further incident. Craffey, 47, was not hit, but Gagnon and Penn were hospitalized with severe injuries. Both men have since been released.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.