Man pleads innocent in shooting incident

A 34-year-old Hungry Horse man arrested after an Oct. 17 standoff with law enforcement pleaded not guilty to a pair of felony charges Thursday in Flathead District Court.

Benjamin Davis is charged with felony counts of assault with a weapon and criminal endangerment.

According to a court document, the incident began when Davis was walking past a home on First Street South West with his dogs. A resident confronted Davis because his loose dogs were agitating the resident’s chained dogs and asked Davis to take his dogs out of the area.

Davis then allegedly pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and pointed it at the resident from about 10 feet away and said “you are going to die,” before firing several shots at the resident, emptying the magazine, reloading, then firing several more shots in the air.

The document stated that Flathead County deputies later found nine spent .40-caliber shell casings in the area. A pair of other neighborhood residents also told police they heard the shots and heard several bullets passing by them. Other witnesses in the neighborhood also reported the shooting.

Following the alleged confrontation, Davis reportedly walked up to another home, where he was allowed inside. When the resident of that home left, he was detained by law enforcement and signed a search waiver allowing them to try to locate Davis in his home.

Police surrounded the home but were unsuccessful in trying to encourage Davis to leave the house on his own. They eventually used tear gas and were able to apprehend him.

Davis was reported to have been extremely intoxicated when he was arrested.

After his arrest, police recovered a .40-caliber Smith and Wesson semiautomatic handgun with one round in the chamber and 13 rounds in the attached magazine.

If convicted of both charges, Davis faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

His next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 13, 2013.