Man shot dead following altercation

Two men involved in a late-night shooting that left one dead in Hungry Horse on Wednesday have pasts that include allegations of violence against others.

According to Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry, the alleged shooter was identified as James William Quen, 47, from Martin City. The victim is Bradley Allen Winters, 33, from Hungry Horse.

Curry said deputies were dispatched to a reported shooting in Hungry Horse at 11:40 p.m., Wednesday. Deputies found Winters dead with a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Curry said a handgun was used in the shooting but wasn’t sure what caliber it was.

“Right now, we are still investigating,” Curry told the Daily Inter Lake. “There are several conflicting stories about what happened.”

The initial investigation by sheriff’s deputies revealed that several individuals were involved in a physical altercation outside Winters’ residence. During the fight, Quen allegedly produced a handgun and several rounds were fired. One round struck Winters in the chest, according to Curry.

Neighbors said they heard three to six gunshots during the confrontation.

Quen was located shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday, and placed under arrest. He is initially charged with deliberate homicide and is being held in the Flathead County jail pending filing of formal charges. An arraignment has yet to be scheduled for Quen.

The sheriff’s department posted on Facebook that detectives are currently searching for two persons of interest — Shivaun Crothers and Ronald Kevin Lindsethat — who may have witnessed the homicide. Anyone with information on how the department can connect with them is requested to contact 752-tips.

Court records indicate Quen’s then-wife filed for divorce and for an order of protection against him in 2004 after she claimed he assaulted a friend of her mother’s. She also claimed he made her have sex with him without her permission.

The divorce was finalized in 2005.

For the victim, he has served time behind bars for previous crimes.

According to court records, Winters was charged with aggravated assault in December 2003 after a September 2003 incident at the Deerlick Salon in Martin City. A criminal complaint filed in the case alleged that Winters, along with others, assaulted a man with a baseball bat, sending him to the hospital with severe injuries.

Winters ended up pleading guilty to a felony count of criminal endangerment. He initially received a suspended sentence of eight years in April 2005, but it wasn’t long before law enforcement officials said he had violated the terms of his probation by using drugs.

When Winters was resentenced, his sentence remained eight years suspended and he was recommended for the Treasure State Training Facility. But Winters didn’t stay at the boot camp long.

The state filed another petition to revoke his sentence after he quit the boot camp. Winters was then ordered to serve five of his eight-year sentence at the boot camp.

Winters was also involved in an armed altercation in December 2014 when an area man shot at him while he attempted to retrieve a vehicle for another person.

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.