Man who skipped sentencing found in California
A Whitefish man with a history of gun-related crimes is awaiting extradition from California to Flathead County after he skipped town while awaiting sentencing for an Aug. 2, 2014, incident where he fired a gun at a motorcycle.
Christopher Robert Showen, 35, is currently being held in Solano County Jail after he was arrested by officers from the Vacaville Police Department on Sept. 2. According to Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry, Showen first lied to law enforcement about who he was, but then eventually cooperated.
Showen was not charged with anything in California, and is being held on warrants out of Flathead County that total $150,000.
Curry said Showen will be extradited.
“Sometimes getting them back here takes a little while,” Curry said.
Showen entered an Alford plea in March to one felony count of assault with a weapon. A second count was dropped as part of a plea agreement.
An Alford plea is not an admission of guilt, but instead is an acknowledgment that the defendant is likely to be found guilty at trial.
Showen was accused of firing three rounds at a motorcycle rider and passenger on Montana 35.
Sentencing was set for June 4 and again on July 30. When Showen was a no-show a second time, District Judge Heidi Ulbricht issued a $100,000 warrant. Showen had been released on the condition of house arrest. Prosecutors have asked that Showen’s bond be revoked.
The latest charge was one in a long list of gun convictions for Showen.
In 2004, Showen was convicted of misdemeanor reckless endangerment, resulting in a year in jail, after he fired a handgun toward people at a bonfire in Alaska.
In 2006, he received a five-year suspended sentence after entering an Alford plea on charges of conspiracy to commit assault with a weapon. That incident involved a shootout at the Eureka police station.
Showen was acquitted of murder charges filed in 1998.
In that case Showen had been accused of shooting his 19-year-old friend C.J. Storkson and burning Storkson’s car.