Man accused of aiming handgun at two people in 2025 given suspended sentences

A Flathead Valley man accused of leveling a handgun at two people near Columbia Falls last summer received a pair of suspended sentences earlier this year.  

Prosecutors brought Dale Justin Cartee, 39, up on two counts of felony assault with a weapon in Flathead County District Court after the July 26 confrontation on Columbia Meadows Drive. Although he pleaded not guilty at his Aug. 7 arraignment before Judge Heidi Ulbricht, he reached a deal with prosecutors by January.  

In exchange for guilty pleas to amended misdemeanor charges of negligent endangerment and assault, prosecutors agreed to recommend he receive a pair of suspended jail sentences.  

Ulbricht kept to the terms of the deal at Cartee's Jan. 15 sentencing, handing down a suspended one-year sentence for the negligent endangerment charge and a suspended six-month sentence for the assault charge. She ordered the two sentences to run consecutively.  

Ulbricht gave Cartee credit for five days of time served and ordered him to pay $175 in fines and fees.  

Deputies headed to Columbia Meadows Drive about 10:33 a.m. after the victims accused Cartee of aiming a handgun at them and threatening to shoot them. Under questioning, Cartee allegedly admitted retrieving his handgun after seeing the pair in a driveway. He said he pointed it at one of the two people, according to court documents. 

Investigators with the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office recovered a loaded Girsan 9 mm handgun from Cartee's vehicle, court documents said. 

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 406-758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.