Marion man accused of pulling gun sentenced

A Marion man who surrendered to the SWAT team after allegedly threatening several people with a gun over the summer received suspended sentences in January. 

Facing one count of felony assault with a weapon, Christopher Martin Klett, 47, agreed to plead no contest to misdemeanor charges of negligent endangerment and resisting arrest on Jan. 9, the second day of his jury trial in Flathead County District Court.

Following the plea change, Judge Danni Coffman handed down a 12-month sentence to the county jail with all but 185 days suspended for negligent endangerment and a suspended six-month sentence for resisting arrest. She ordered the two sentences to run consecutively and gave Klett credit for 185 days of time served. 

County Attorney Travis Ahner, who prosecuted the case, told Coffman that the victims supported the agreement. 

Authorities arrested Klett after two men in the Lower Lost Prairie Road area reported seeing him displaying a handgun on July 8, according to court documents. One of the victims recounted a drunken Klett pulling the gun out during an argument, court documents said. Another recalled Klett allegedly walking up the road with the gun aimed at him.

That victim seized the firearm after a scuffle with Klett, court documents said. 

Arriving Flathead County Sheriff’s Office deputies found Klett inside his home, but the 47-year-old allegedly refused to exit the house. He surrendered after the SWAT team arrived in the neighborhood, court documents said.

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