Judge has mercy on man who shot in anger toward duck hunters
HUNTING - A Columbia Falls man has been given a one-year deferred jail sentence for shooting in the direction of other duck hunters last October after he had warned them against traveling through duck decoys he had set up along the Flathead River.
The Daily Inter Lake reports Brad Lee Bell, 44, was ordered Wednesday to pay nearly $1,900 in restitution for damages to a cellphone and boat from the shooting.
Attorney Thane Johnson said he had an expert who would testify that Bell was too far away from the men to actually harm them. However, he said a felony conviction would have serious implications for Bell’s employment.
Bell entered an Alford plea to misdemeanor criminal endangerment. Under the plea, he maintains his innocence but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to gain a conviction.