Page 17 - Flathead Beacon // 8.13.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS AUGUST 13, 2014 | 17
Whitefish Road Rage Suspect Has Long Criminal History
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Christopher Robert Showen
found numerous discrepancies in the
Showen was charged with conspira- cy to commit assault with a weapon. He entered an Alford plea and was given a five-year suspended sentence to the De- partment of Corrections. An Alford plea is filed when a defendant believes that they are innocent but knows the prose- cution has enough evidence to find them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The suspended sentence was later revoked after he was arrested for violating his probation.
This week, Showen was charged with felony assault with a weapon following a road rage incident on Aug. 2.
According to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and court documents, shortly after 7 p.m., Aug. 2, emergency dispatch 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 mo- torcycle. No one was hit or injured. The couple stopped following the vehicle and called police.
Police tracked the vehicle to White- fish where officers arrested Showen.
If convicted, Showen could spend 20 years in prison and face a fine of $50,000. [email protected]
witnesses’ version of events.
was acquitted of murdering Five years later, Showen pleaded
Olney teen in 1998
By JUSTIN FRANZ of the Beacon
The Whitefish man accused of shoot- ing at two motorcyclists on Aug. 2 has a checkered criminal history and was pre- viously charged with murder.
Christopher Robert Showen, 34, was acquitted of killing an 18-year-old Ol- ney man in 1999. He was
also sentenced to a year in
prison following a drive- by shooting in Alaska in 2004 and was involved in a shooting at the Eureka po- lice station in 2005.
Showen was just 19
years old when he stood
trial for the murder of Carl
John “C.J.” Storkson. Ac-
cording to court docu-
ments, Storkson, Showen
and some other teens had
been snorting crank on
the night of April 6, 1998, when Stork- son was shot in the back of the head on a back road between Columbia Falls and Whitefish. Storkson, who lived in Olney, was reported missing three days later and his body was found in a shal- low grave in the Stillwater State Forest. His burned-out vehicle was also found nearby.
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
guilty to misdemeanor misconduct in- volving weapons following a drive-by shooting in Wasilla, Alaska. Accord- ing to a news story in the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, Showen was involved in an argument with a woman at a party on May 9, 2004, and as he left the bonfire, he leaned out of a vehicle’s passenger- side window and fired several shots into the air before firing several more at the woman. Showen spent a year in prison for the offense.
Less than two years later, Showen was involved in another shooting, this time at the Eureka po- lice station. According to a Western News story, on the night of Dec. 18, 2005, Showen, Mark Nelson and Jennifer Nelson were ar- rested at the VFW in Eure- ka following an altercation with a police officer. Mark Nelson, Jennifer Nelson’s father, and Showen were
charged with disorderly conduct and re- leased.
But Jennifer, who was dating Show- en at the time, remained incarcerated so that law enforcement could conduct a mental health evaluation. A short while later, Mark Nelson returned to the police station with a shotgun and de- manded his daughter be released before firing a round of buckshot at an officer. The officer returned fire, hitting Nelson three times. Moments later, police found Showen sitting in Nelson’s car outside with the motor running and a handgun, a shotgun and a rifle.
Municipal Matters
A recap of recent city council and county commission meetings
KALISPELL
• The city council discussed the U.S. Highway 93 couplet around the Flathead County Courthouse at its Aug. 11 work session.
WHITEFISH
•The city of Whitefish is allowing Malmquist Construction to close Baker Avenue between East 2nd Street and East 3rd Street in down- town Whitefish temporarily for ex- cavation associated with the con- struction of an adjacent building
at the southeast corner of 2nd and Baker. Crews are scheduled to close down the one block of Baker Avenue Aug. 11-15 from 7 a.m. - 7 p. m.
• Schellinger Construction crews will be working from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. this week as they rebuild U.S. Highway 93 North. Schellinger rec- ommends planning for delays and occasional one-lane traffic dur- ing these hours. Over the next two weeks, Schellinger Construction crews will be trimming trees by the Whitefish Cemetery and con- tinuing the installation of utilities and new systems. These systems include storm drainage, sanitation
and water lines. No outages are anticipated during these instal- lations. Schellinger Construction would like to thank the residents and businesses who have called and attended meetings to express ap- preciation for how the project has been managed to date. Addition- ally, Schellinger apologizes for the traffic delays on Aug. 1. Residents are encouraged to visit http://www. mdt.mt.gov/pubinvolve/karrow or tune into 106.3 FM, 103.1 FM, and 880 AM for weekly updates. Addi- tionally, a meeting will be held ev- ery Tuesday at 9 a.m. at 2005 Lion Mountain Road and the public is welcome to attend.