A Whitefish man who fired a gun at two people during a road rage incident in 2014 and later skipped his own sentencing hearing will spend the next 15 years in the Montana State Prison.
Christopher Robert Showen appeared in Flathead County District Court for a change of plea and sentencing hearing on Dec. 28 on charges of assault with a weapon and bail jumping.
Showen was first accused of felony assault with a weapon in August 2014 when he fired at two people on a motorcycle near Columbia Falls. In early 2015, Showen entered an Alford plea to the charges in return for a recommended 10-year suspended sentence to the Department of Corrections. Under an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that sufficient evidence exits to convince a jury of guilt.
However, last summer Showen skipped out on his own sentencing hearing and a judge signed a warrant for his arrest after the Flathead County Attorney’s Office charged him with bail jumping. On Sept. 2, Showen was arrested in California and extradited back to Montana. Upon his return, Showen pleaded not guilty to bail jumping.
On Dec. 28, Showen was back in court for a change of plea and sentencing hearing. On the charges of felony assault with a weapon, Showen was sentenced to the Montana State Prison for 15 years with 5 years suspended. On the bail jumping charge, he was given a consecutive term of 10 years to prison with 5 years suspended.
The 2014 road rage incident was not Showen’s first run-in with the law. Showen was 19 years old when he stood trial for the 1998 murder of Carl John “C.J.” Storkson. During the three-week trial, prosecutors argued Showen had shot and killed his childhood friend and later buried the body. The jury found Showen not guilty after defense attorney Phyllis Quatman orchestrated a defense that found numerous discrepancies in the witnesses’ version of events.
Five years later, Showen spent a year in prison following a drive-by shooting in Alaska.
In 2006, Showen was given a 5-year suspended sentence to the Department of Corrections for conspiracy to commit assault with a weapon following a shooting at the Eureka Police Station. The suspended sentence was later revoked after he was arrested for violating his probation.