An Evergreen man has denied that he fired a gun into the ground to scare three teenagers on Feb. 9.
Joseph Holmstrom pleaded not guilty to charges of assault with a weapon in Flathead County District Court on March 5.
According to court documents, the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a shooting at the Ridgewood Trailer Park on Feb. 9. Officers spoke with three 16-year-old boys who said they were walking through the park and encountered Holmstrom. One of the boys asked Holmstrom for a cigarette and the two then got into a fight. Holmstrom walked up to his trailer, slammed the wall and went inside. Moments later he came back out and fired a gun into the ground. He then yelled at the three boys, who had hid in another trailer, to come outside.
When Holmstrom talked with police, he told them that he had fired a gun into the air after one of the teenagers threatened him with his own gun. All three boys denied having a gun and a search of the trailer never produced one, according to police.
Holmstrom is scheduled to go to trial in June. If convicted, Holmstrom could go to jail for 20 years and a $50,000 fine.