Man Charged in Fatal Shooting in Martin City Pleads Not Guilty

A 40-year-old Flathead County man charged with killing a woman and critically injuring her husband after an early morning shooting last month outside a Martin City bar pleaded not guilty Tuesday to three felony charges of deliberate homicide, attempted deliberate homicide and evidence tampering.

Del Orrin Crawford, 40, entered the pleas during a Sept. 6 arraignment hearing in Flathead County District Court before Judge Amy Eddy.

According to an affidavit filed by Deputy Flathead County Attorney Stacy Bowman, Crawford on Aug. 27 allegedly shot Hungry Horse residents Whisper Dawn Mari Sellars, 28, who died at the scene, and Doug Crosswhite, 33, outside the South Fork Saloon at 1 a.m.

The incident began when Crawford confronted a group of people who were attempting to start a golf cart outside the Martin City drinking establishment, which escalated into an argument that included “pushing and shoving,” according to charging documents.

One witness told deputies that Sellars, the victim, and another woman were sitting in the golf cart taking pictures outside the bar when Crawford confronted them. After an argument ensued, Crawford pushed Sellars, the affidavit states, and Crosswhite, the other victim, pushed Crawford back.

At that point, Crawford “fell backwards, got up, pulled a handgun from his waistline, and began shooting,” the affidavit states.

When law enforcement arrived at the scene, they encountered witnesses performing CPR on Sellars, who had been shot in the chest and was not breathing, as well as Crosswhite, who’d been shot in the arm and the chest. He was sitting on the road in front of the bar with a tourniquet around his arm and a seal on his chest, the affidavit states.

Sellars was pronounced dead at the scene and Crosswhite was taken to Logan Health for further medical treatment, according to the records.

At that point, Cpl. Caleb Tappan reached Crawford by phone. The law enforcement officer reported that the defendant told him he was just up the road and had shot in self-defense. Tappan told Crawford to lay the gun down and walk up the road to the bar, the affidavit states, where deputies intercepted and arrested him. Although officers pressed Crawford about the location of the gun, he merely said it was “in a safe place and the officers would not find it.”

Crawford remains jailed on $750,000 bail.