No prison for man who shot wife

COEUR d’ALENE — A man who shot his wife in the back last year will likely spend the rest of his life in an assisted living facility, rather than in prison.

The 75-year-old Coeur d’Alene resident pleaded guilty in accordance with Alford to aggravated battery, a felony punishable by a maximum of 15 years in prison.

By entering an Alford plea, he did not admit guilt but acknowledged there is enough evidence that he might be convicted if the case went to trial.

The Press is not naming him because that would reveal the identity of the victim.

The charge stems from Oct. 11, 2020, when police responded around 12:30 a.m. to a report of a domestic dispute involving a gun at a Fernan Hill residence.

On the front porch, police found a 63-year-old woman who said her husband had shot her.

In court last week, she described the night that changed her life forever.

She said she was about to head upstairs when she noticed her husband of 43 years standing in their bedroom, pointing a gun at her.

“I turned to run and that’s when the gun went off,” she said.

She told police her husband had “stopped taking his medication” and had been carrying a handgun around the house for weeks.

Though she had locked the gun up out of concern, her husband found it and shot her.

He then called 911. Police arrested him at the scene.

The woman woke from a coma 10 days after the shooting.

She was hospitalized for weeks, before a family member relocated to Idaho to become her full-time caregiver.

The bullet tore through her back, she said, shredding organs before exiting through her abdomen.

Before the shooting, she was healthy and active.

Now 64 years old, she said her health is precarious and her life will likely be cut short.

She reportedly lost her large intestine, gallbladder, pancreas, appendix and one kidney as a result of her injuries.

Her remaining kidney has limited function and she requires dialysis in order to survive.

“I now feel like just a bag of skin and bones,” she said. “I feel old, weak and alone for the first time in my life.”

After his arrest, the man was held on $1 million bail.

He reportedly has severe health issues, including a progressive nervous system disorder that limits his mobility.

He has approximately six months left to live, his attorney said.

As part of a plea agreement, the state dismissed drug possession and drug paraphernalia charges against the man.

Prosecutors also recommended a suspended prison sentence if he made arrangements for assisted living and agreed to wear a GPS monitoring device.

Judge Cynthia Meyer sentenced the man to 10 years indeterminate, with 262 days credit for time served.

She also placed him on supervised probation for 5 years, noting that he may not live that long.

Meyer said the man’s declining health and poor prognosis contributed to her decision. If he were a healthy 75-year-old, she said, he would likely have received prison time.

In lieu of prison, he must reside in either assisted living or hospice care. He is permitted to leave only for medical appointments or court hearings.

When he addressed the court, the man maintained that he shot his wife accidentally.

“You can’t be together for as long as we were without developing a strong bond,” he said. “The bond still exists for me. It seems from here on, we part ways.”

Divorce proceedings have been ongoing since shortly after the shooting, according to court documents.

The woman said she lost everything the night of the shooting — her health, her Fernan Hill home, her adult stepdaughters who she’d known for more than 40 years, and the love of her life.

“I worshipped you and believed everything you ever told me,” she said to her husband in court. “But that was then. This is now. I can’t be by your side in this, the biggest battle of your life.”

Still, she said she was glad he accepted the plea agreement, which will allow him to live out the rest of his life in a care facility rather than behind bars.

After the shooting, she said she gained insight into her own fortitude.

Her husband once described her as a warhorse, she said — and now she knows it’s true.

She’s not a victim, she said, but a survivor.

“I can survive without him but would like to thank him for loving me and making me strong during our 43 years together,” she said.

Despite the pain her husband put her through, she said he will always hold a place in her heart that can never be filled.

“You were the best part of my life,” she said. “May God be with us both.”