Man who fired shots free after 115 days in jail

A Hungry Horse man who spent 115 days in jail while his assault and endangerment case moved through Flathead District Court will spend no more time behind bars.

Benjamin Davis, 34, was given a three-year deferred sentence May 9 by Judge David Ortley after Davis pleaded guilty to felony criminal endangerment.

That plea earned Davis the dismissal of a felony charge of assault with a weapon.

Ortley ordered that 115 days of the sentence be served in the Flathead County Detention Center, then gave Davis credit for those days as time previously served.

According to a court document, Davis was walking past a home on First Street South West with his dogs when a resident confronted him, saying the dogs were agitating his own chained dogs.

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

He was later apprehended, apparently extremely intoxicated, at his home after a SWAT team surrounded the house and used tear gas.

In addition to his deferred sentence, Davis was ordered to pay an $800 public defender fee.