A 22-year-old woman arrested as part of the investigation into a murder in Coram has been charged with aggravated burglary stemming from her involvement with a mysterious shooting in Coram in January.
Liena Lynn Griffith pleaded not guilty to the single felony charge during an arraignment in Flathead County District Court on Feb. 28. She is expected to stand trial later this year. If convicted, she could face up to 40 years in prison.
Griffith was arrested in Evergreen on Feb. 21 after law enforcement executed a warrant on a home there in the ongoing investigation into the shooting death of 54-year-old William Melton. Martin Chandler, 19, has been charged with deliberate homicide in that case.
According to Sheriff Brian Heino, deputies responded to a report of gunfire at a Coram home on Jan. 18. When they arrived they spoke to a woman who said that she was sleeping on the couch when she awoke to see two individuals standing in the doorway. The two individuals allegedly fired a gun in the direction of the woman and then fled the scene. The woman on the couch was not injured in the shooting. Law enforcement later found evidence connecting Griffith to the shooting.
According to charging documents, Griffith later told her mother that she had gone into a home in Coram and was startled by someone on the couch. She told her mother that she fired her gun at the person.