Shooting suspect waives hearing

SANDPOINT - A Bonner County man accused of shooting another man during a dispute at Bloom Lake last month waived his right to a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.

Michael Jesse Chisholm's waiver clears the way for his arraignment in 1st District Court on Aug. 17. He remains held at the Bonner County Jail with his bail set at $150,000.

Chisholm is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and use of a firearm during the commission of a crime. The charges stem from a June 28 altercation in which he is accused of shooting another man in the back.

The alleged victim survived the shooting.

Chisholm's bail was increased from $50,000 after investigators discovered his extensive use of aliases. Chisholm was once known as Michael Allen Pederson and was reported missing in Livermore, Calif.

Pederson has been declared dead in California, although the circumstances of that declaration remain under investigation, according to Bonner County sheriff's Det. Kurt Lehman.

Chisholm's various aliases were linked to a convicted murderer in California named Michael Allen Hodges. However, Lehman said on Wednesday that Chisholm has been conclusively determined not to be Hodges through fingerprint analysis.

Chisholm's defense counsel, Deputy Public Defender Dan Taylor, said his client opened fire on the alleged victim because he thought he was about to be shot. The two men were arguing prior to the shooting, but it's unclear in court documents what the nature of the argument was.

Alcohol factored into the mayhem, according to court documents.

Chisholm, 66, is the caretaker of the campground at Bloom Lake and his supporters have expressed disbelief that he would shoot somebody.

Character reference letters have begun accumulating in his court file.

Mary Jane Young told the court that Chisholm eschews alcohol and avoids those who drink. She called him a dependable and helpful neighbor.

"My interaction with Mike Chisholm over the years has been 100 percent positive," Young wrote.

Charlotte Wright said his recent criminal troubles are "very uncharacteristic."

"I don't know what happened that night, but can only imagine that he must have been in fear for his life," Wright wrote.