SANDPOINT — A Bonner County man is facing a felony charge for allegedly trying to talk a man out of pressing charges for allegedly threatening him.

Dean Charles Smith is charged with witness intimidation. He made an initial appearance in Bonner County Magistrate Court on Wednesday.

Judge Tera Harden appointed a public defender to represent Smith and entered an order forbidding him from contacting the alleged victim, court documents show.

The charge stems from an April 19 phone call Smith made while incarcerated at the Bonner County Jail, according to a probable cause affidavit. The call was recorded on the facility’s Telmate telecommunications system.

Smith, 49, allegedly called an Oldtown man he is accused of threatening during an April 17 altercation and trying to persuade him to recant and thereby hinder his prosecution. In the underlying incident, Smith is accused of threatening the Oldtown man and another man when they confronted Smith about his demolition of a camp trailer which belonged to the Oldtown man, according to court documents. The men told sheriff’s deputies that Smith threatened to beat them down if they interfered with his destruction of the trailer.

Smith allegedly told the Oldtown man the threat was a bluff and never would have hurt him, the affidavit said.

A preliminary hearing on the felony charge is set for May 9. Smith is scheduled to be arraigned on two misdemeanor assault charges on May 11, court documents indicate.

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