Jury finds man guilty of exhibiting weapon at angler

By KEITH KINNAIRD

Hagadone News Network

SANDPOINT — A jury convicted a Bonner County landowner Thursday of using a pistol to drive off bass anglers, including Boundary County resident Scott Duarte, who were fishing in a small slough off the Priest River last summer.

The jury of three men and three women found Chester F. Leeson, 74, guilty of exhibiting a deadly weapon. The jury deliberated for nearly two hours before convicting Leeson of the misdemeanor offense.

Judge Debra Heise fined Leeson $1,000, all but $300 of which was suspended, and placed him on one year's probation. Heise also prohibited Leeson from discharging firearms on his property until he completes probation.

Deputy Prosecutor Sarah Hallock-Jayne and defense attorney Bryce Powell agreed a jail sentence would be inappropriate given Leeson's age and the absence of any prior criminal record, including speeding tickets.

"I have an unblemished record up to this point," Leeson said.

Leeson was charged following an Aug. 15 confrontation with Thomas Duarte and Greg Steven Edwards. Duarte, a 28-year-old professional bass angler from Boundary County, told deputies Leeson asked them what they were doing in the slough and Duarte replied that he and Edwards were fishing.

Duarte said he heard the clap of a gunshot and saw the water 50 feet behind his boat erupt and saw Leeson holding the weapon. At least two more shots were fired into the air, according to Edwards, 45.

Nobody was injured and Duarte used the incident to take a public stand for all fishermen in Idaho who have been threatened and harassed by landowners who claim public waters as private property.

The shooting incident occurred in a manmade slough Leeson excavated on his property. However, the public waters of Priest River filled the slough, effectively creating a liquid layer of public access.

Leeson took the stand in his own defense and steadfastly denied menacing the two anglers with the 9-millimeter pistol. He testified that he was showing the gun to a house guest and fired two shots into the air and another shot at a woodpile across the slough before noticing the fishermen were even there.

"I would never shoot at anybody. I would never point a gun at anyone. It's not my way," he said.

A vital element of the charge was a finding that Leeson displayed the weapon in a rude, angry or threatening manner.

Hallock-Jayne emphasized that a defense witness described Leeson as "disturbed" by seeing strangers in a boat so close to his property and added that firing a handgun three times easily qualified as exhibiting the weapon in a threatening manner.

Hallock-Jayne did not dispute Leeson was an upstanding citizen, but said he crossed a line during the confrontation.

"The fact is you don't pull guns on people who come too close to your property," she said.

Powell said the only evidence suggesting Leeson was acting in a threatening manner were the statements of Duarte, whom he portrayed as a crusader with a history of confrontations with landowners.

Powell added that Leeson did the exact opposite of displaying the weapon in a threatening manner when he saw the fishermen and went to investigate.

"He holstered it and placed it in his back pocket," Powell said.

Jurors, however, concluded Leeson exhibited the weapon threateningly.

Heise asked the prosecution if Leeson should be asked to write a letter of apology to Duarte and Edwards. Hallock-Jayne replied that it would be an appropriate gesture.

Leeson indicated he would rather go to jail than apologize.

"I don't feel I did this," he said. "I will never give in on that fact."