Page 21 - Flathead Beacon // 3.4.15

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS MARCH 4, 2015 | 21 The Roundup
From Beacon wire and news services
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FLATHEAD
PLEA DEAL REACHED IN WHITEFISH ROAD RAGE INCIDENT
A Whitefish man accused of shoot- ing at two motorcyclists last summer en- tered an Alford plea to felony charge of assault with a weapon on Feb. 27.
In a plea agreement filed last week, prosecutors recommended Christopher Robert Showen receive a 10-year sus- pended sentence to the state’s Depart- ment of Corrections in return for the Al- ford plea. Under an Alford plea, a defen- dant does not admit guilt but acknowl- edges that sufficient evidence exists to convince a jury of his guilt.
According to court documents, on Aug. 2, 2014, the Flathead County Sher- iff’s Office received a report of shots be- ing fired on Trumble Creek Road near Columbia Falls. The victim and his girl- friend told police that they were riding their motorcycle when a reckless driver passed them in the Creston area. As they passed, the occupants of the vehicle re- portedly made obscene gestures at the bikers.
The couple on the motorcycle fol- lowed the vehicle in an attempt to get the license plate number. As the vehicle approached the intersection of Trumble Creek and Hodgson roads, a male pas- senger, later identified as Showen, re- portedly leaned out of the car and began firing a handgun at the couple on the motorcycle. No one was hit or injured. The couple pulled over and called police. Police tracked the vehicle to Whitefish, where officers arrested Showen.
The road rage incident was not Show- en’s first run-in with the law. Showen was 19 years old when he stood trial for the murder of Carl John “C.J.” Storkson.
During a three-week trial, prosecu- tors argued to a jury that Showen had killed his childhood friend and later buried the body. The jury found Showen not guilty after Showen’s attorney, Phyl- lis Quatman, orchestrated a defense that found numerous discrepancies in the witnesses’ versions of events.
FLATHEAD COUNTY MAN SENTENCED FOR ASSAULT, ARSON
A Kalispell man who attacked his girlfriend last year and later tried to set his former landlord’s front door on fire was sentenced in Flathead County Dis- trict Court on Feb. 26.
Elijah Norman Weller received a 15- year sentence with 10 years suspended stemming from a July 2014 incident dur- ing which he repeatedly kicked his girl-
friend in the head and then shot at her with a shotgun as she fled. He also re- ceived a five-year suspended sentence for setting two fires in the Kalispell area last August.
According to court documents, early on the morning of July 4, 2014, Weller attacked his girlfriend in their shared home on Poplar Drive near Kalispell. Weller reportedly grabbed her by the hair and threw her on the ground before kicking her on her left side so hard that she “felt something happen inside her body.”
The woman was able to get up and walk outside where she met three friends. She got into one of her friend’s vehicles, and as they drove away Weller fired a shotgun toward them, according to court records. The woman was tak- en to North Valley Hospital in White- fish where doctors discovered that her spleen had ruptured and that she needed an emergency operation to remove it.
Less than two weeks later, Weller set fire to his landlord’s front door and a parked vehicle belonging to his ex-girl- friend’s acquaintance.
In August, Weller was charged with two counts of arson and in September he was charged with felony aggravated as- sault and assault with a weapon. In De- cember he signed a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to the charges of arson and guilty by way of Alford to the charg- es of assault with a weapon and aggra- vated assault.
MONTANA
THOMPSON FALLS SENATOR’S AIDE ASKED TO LEAVE AFTER BECOMING LOBBYIST
A state senator’s aide has been asked to quit after his registration as a lobbyist was revealed as a potential ethics viola- tion.
William Richardson had served as aide to Sen. Jennifer Fielder, R-Thomp- son Falls, since the start of the legisla- tive session.
Richardson registered with the Of- fice of Political Practices as an American Lands Council lobbyist. Legislative lead- ers left the decision on whether Richard- son should leave or stay to Richardson and the senator.
According to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Richardson registered as a lobbyist less than a week before conser- vation and hunting groups held a rally in Helena against the transfer of federal lands to the state.
Legislative leaders said the aide vio- lated legislative rules by registering as a lobbyist.
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