Plea hearing moved to February for woman shot by deputy

A change in plea hearing for a Columbia Falls woman who was shot by a Flathead County Sheriff’s deputy in 2013, has been rescheduled to February.

Michelle Gentry, 57, was scheduled to enter a no-contest plea to misdemeanor negligent endangerment Thursday in Flathead District Court. Gentry was not present. Defense lawyer Kira Evans had expected to enter the plea on Gentry’s behalf, but prosecutor Alison Howard said she was under the impression written acknowledgment by Gentry would be provided to do so.

“Your honor, I guess I was under the impression that the defense attorneys would have some sort of written acknowledgment from Miss Gentry that they’d enter a plea on her behalf,” Howard said. “I don’t have any opposition to Miss Evans entering a plea on the behalf of Miss Gentry, but I think we need some sort of acknowledgment from Miss Gentry that that’s OK for her to do.”

Judge Amy Eddy agreed and rescheduled the change in plea to 9 a.m. on Feb. 2.

During a phone call with the Daily Inter Lake on Tuesday, Gentry indicated that she had not been informed of the court date set for Thursday prior to reading about it in Monday’s paper.

Gentry has completed the terms of a two-year deferred prosecution agreement as of November 2016, according to court documents.

A plea agreement signed in November 2014 dropped a charge of felony assault on a peace officer that had been filed for allegedly pointing a gun at the deputy who responded by firing 15 rounds from his AR-15 rifle, striking Gentry twice.

The plea agreement called for Gentry to enter the no-contest plea to misdemeanor negligent endangerment if she managed to remain law-abiding for two years. 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 after a SWAT team had been called to her home after negotiators were unable to get her to come out of her home. Preliminary reports indicated Gentry as suicidal, according to amended information filed in court on Jan. 13. According to a report compiled by the Kalispell Police Department, Gentry had told negotiators earlier that if police came to her home, she would come out and make them shoot her.

Gentry eventually left the house after several hours of negotiations over the phone and allegedly pointed a handgun at a deputy. Gentry disputes this version of events.

A SWAT team member eventually opened fire, first hitting the county’s armored vehicle before striking Gentry twice. According to the amended information, the deputy “responded with force accordingly.” The deputy was cleared by a shooting review board.

Gentry sued the involved SWAT team members and the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office in Montana Federal District Court in April 2015. The case was “dismissed with prejudice” by Judge Dana Christensen in May 2016, with each party having to pay their own legal fees.