A 24-year-old Browning man who admitted to shooting and wounding another man during an argument in Browning on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation was sentenced Thursday to five years and six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Johnathan Charles Gifford Oldchief pleaded guilty in June to assault resulting in serious bodily injury, assault with a dangerous weapon and using a firearm during a crime of violence before Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris.
According to court documents, Oldchief on April 7 spent the evening drinking with others at a Browning residence. Shortly after midnight, five people left the house in a vehicle driven by Oldchief and after driving less than two blocks, Oldchief and the male victim got into a verbal argument.
Oldchief stopped driving and another person intervened before Oldchief ordered the victim out of the vehicle. The victim complied and after driving a short distance, Oldchief stopped the car, grabbed his 9mm pistol from the center console and got out.
Oldchief approached the victim and shot him point blank in the abdomen before returning to his car and fleeing the scene.
Emergency services responded and the victim was flown to a hospital in Great Falls where he underwent lifesaving surgery.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kalah A. Paisley prosecuted the case.