Flathead Valley man receives deferred sentence for alleged drunken gunplay

A Flathead Valley man accused of engaging in gunplay last summer that wounded a sleeping woman received a two-year deferred sentence in Flathead County District Court in late July.

Judge Dan Wilson handed down the deferred sentence to George Paul Herne, 20, on July 27. Herne also received credit for two days of time served.

Charged with criminal endangerment, Herne struck a deal with prosecutors in May that saw him plead no contest to the felony count. As part of the deal, prosecutors agreed to recommend the deferred sentence.

Flathead County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Herne after a witness recounted him drunkenly playing with a gun in the basement of a Bison Drive home on July 4, 2022, according to court documents. Authorities headed to the home after learning medical personnel were treating a woman who suffered a gunshot wound inside the house, court documents said.

The woman told investigators she was sleeping in bed with her young daughter when a noise woke her up. She assumed a mattress spring broke, but later realized she had suffered a gunshot wound, according to court documents.

The witness in the basement with Herne remembered telling him to put the gun away, court documents said. Instead, he allegedly aimed it at the ceiling and fired off a round.

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.