Man convicted of gun crime
A Whitefish man accused of firing a handgun at a motorcycle reached a plea agreement with prosecutors last week.
Christopher Robert Showen, 35, entered an Alford plea to one felony count of assault with a weapon. A second count of assault with a weapon was dismissed in the agreement.
An Alford plea means that the defendant doesn’t admit guilt but would likely be found guilty at trial.
On Aug. 2, 2014, the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a motorcycle rider who said somebody in a vehicle had fired three rounds at him and a passenger on Montana 35.
Deputies tracked the license plate of the vehicle to Showen, who was with his wife, Jennifer. According to court documents, Jennifer Showen told deputies that she was driving and attempted to pass a motorcycle, but it sped up and forced her to back down. She said that she didn’t recall shooting the gun, but she keeps a .40-caliber Beretta in the car.
Christopher Showen admitted being the passenger in the car. The motorcycle rider reported that a male passenger fired the gun.
Jennifer Showen told the Daily Inter Lake that the woman on the back of the motorcycle made an obscene gesture at her, which she and her husband returned. She said that shots were fired into the air, but she didn’t say who fired the gun.
Showen initially pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The judge signed a conditional release order for Christopher Showen on the same day as the plea agreement.
His sentencing is scheduled for June 2.
This was not the first firearms-related case for Christopher Showen.
In 2006, he received a five-year suspended sentence for charges connected to a shootout at the Eureka police station.
Showen had entered an Alford plea to charges of conspiracy to commit assault with a weapon for the Eureka incident.
In 2004, Christopher Showen was convicted in Alaska on gun-related charges. He was accused of firing a handgun toward people at a bonfire. The ultimate conviction was for misdemeanor reckless endangerment, resulting in one year in jail.
In another case, Showen was acquitted of Flathead County charges related to a 1998 murder near Olney. He had been accused of shooting his 19-year-old friend, Carl C.J. Storkson, and burning his car.