Woman shot by deputy pleads no contest

A woman who was shot by a Flathead County Sheriff’s deputy in October 2013 entered a no-contest plea Feb. 2 to misdemeanor negligent endangerment.

Michelle Gentry of Columbia Falls entered the plea in accordance with a plea agreement, which called for the no-contest plea if she remained law-abiding for two years, according to documents filed in Flathead District Court.

Gentry was sentenced to six months in the Flathead County Detention Center, with all six months suspended.

A no-contest plea acknowledges that a jury could find a person guilty, but allows a defendant to maintain his or her innocence.

Gentry was shot during a standoff with a SWAT team that was called to her home after negotiators failed to get her to leave the house. Gentry was allegedly suicidal when the incident occurred, and she eventually left the house with a revolver reportedly aimed at officers and screaming, “Do it, do it, do it, do it [expletive] now.”

A SWAT team member opened fire and hit Gentry twice. The deputy involved was cleared of charges.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.