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Sentencing is reset in deputy shootings

KEITH KINNAIRD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 7 years, 3 months AGO
by KEITH KINNAIRD
News Editor | March 8, 2018 12:00 AM

SANDPOINT — A sentencing hearing has been reset for a Blanchard man accused of wounding two Bonner County sheriff’s deputies.

Adam Deacon Foster was scheduled to be sentenced in 1st District Court last Monday, but the hearing was called off so Foster can undergo a court-ordered mental health evaluation, court records show. The hearing was reset for May 11.

Judge Barbara Buchanan ordered the evaluation when Foster pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder in connection with the shootings of deputies Michael Gagnon and Justin Penn outside Foster’s home on Jan. 16, 2017.

Foster entered pleas in the criminal case after civil mediation was utilized to broker a plea agreement. That charges against Foster stayed largely intact, although two sentencing enhancements for inflicting great bodily harm on Penn and Gagnon were fused into a single enhancement, according to court documents.

Foster, 32, is accused of opening fire on Gagnon and Penn when they attempted to arrest him outside his Mountain View Road home. Foster allegedly bolted away from the deputies and dashed around the side of the home. Foster opened fire when the deputies gave chase, hitting both with rounds fired from a .357 revolver. Despite being shot, the deputies returned fire and wounded Foster, which brought an end to the gunbattle.

Gagnon, 53, and Penn, 30, survived the shooting and were later cleared of wrongdoing by the Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office, which reviewed the use of force by the deputies. Prosecutor Barry McHugh concluded that the deputies were justified in their use of force.

Gagnon, Penn and Deputy William Craffey resolved to arrest Foster on an outstanding warrant after he allegedly made homicidal threats and vowed to kill law officers if they tried to stop him, court records indicate.

Foster faces up to 15 years in prison on each count, plus the 20-year sentencing enhancement, according to Idaho Code. Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall has agreed to limit the state’s sentencing recommendation to 50 years, court records indicate.

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

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