Shot hitchhiker charged

HELENA – A Montana prosecutor has filed charges against a hitchhiker who authorities say shot himself in the arm on the side of a remote highway in northeastern Montana and then claimed to be the victim of a drive-by shooting.

The charging documents, which were filed Tuesday and released on Thursday, represent the latest chapter in the bizarre story of a struggling photographer who claimed to have been randomly shot while traveling the country to put together a book on the kindness of strangers. The new filings reveal that Ray Dolin allegedly told authorities that the shooting was a failed attempted suicide.

Valley County Attorney Nickolas Murnion charged Dolin, 39, of Julian, W.Va., with tampering or fabricating physical evidence, false reports to law enforcement authorities and obstructing a police officer.