Car shooting case moved to youth court

An August case involving a youth accused of firing several shots at a vehicle with passengers in it has been moved to youth court.

Court minutes in a hearing presided over by state District Judge Kaydee Snipes Ruiz say Hill County Attorney Lacey Lincoln said both sides had come to a resolution in the case and were stipulating it be moved to Youth Court to be handled as a juvenile case.

In Montana, some charges including felony assault with a weapon involving a youth defendant can start in District Court but be moved to juvenile court if the judge deems it appropriate.

In the hearing last week, Snipes Ruiz approved the motion to move the case to juvenile court, saying it serves the best interests of community protection and also is in the best interests of the youth, who was 17 on Aug. 17 when the incident occurred.

The defendant was charged Sept. 2 with two felony counts of assault with a weapon and a felony count of criminal endangerment.

Havre police said in a press release Aug. 22 that a 17-year-old boy was arrested Aug. 19 on suspicion of charges including attempted murder after police were told that someone in a vehicle Thursday had fired multiple gunshots at another vehicle.

The boy was arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide, assault with a weapon and criminal endangerment and was transported to be held in the Cascade County Juvenile Detention Center.

The release said Havre Police Department received information Aug. 19 that a 17-year-old boy may have shot a gun at people near Legion Baseball Field during the early morning hours of Thursday on the 100 Block of First Street.

The officers determined that a Chevrolet pickup truck was traveling westbound on the 100 Block of 12th Street when the driver of a Chevrolet sedan traveling eastbound fired multiple shots at the occupant and the pickup, the release said.

No one was injured during the incident, the release said.

Court documents said that a witness reported the incident happened about 3:20 a.m. Aug. 17 on the 1100 Block of 12th Street in Havre.

The witness said he was riding in the Chevrolet pickup when they saw the defendant in his 2012 Chevrolet Malibu. The defendant and someone in the pickup did not get along and the parties in both vehicles exchanged words, the witness said.

The witness said the defendant was throwing things at the pickup and then the witness saw the defendant point a gun at him through the driver side window and fire several shots. Two people were in the bed of the pickup and the witness and owner and driver of the pickup were in the cab.

Officers found three visible hits by bullets, two holes and a dent, with one striking the tailgate, one in the baed behind the driver’s seat and another dent above the driver’s rear tire. The owner said he believed one shot pierced his radiator and another entered a tire, and the windshield of the pickup was shattered.

A red bag was found in the vehicle the defendant was riding in when he was arrested Aug. 19. After obtaining search warrants for the vehicle and the bag, officers found items including a Glock 19 pistol, an extended 31-round magazine for that pistol and a Glock 9 mm 15-round magazine containing 11 rounds of ammunition.

A rider in the Malibu said someone from the pickup truck had broken the rear window of the defendant’s Malibu, which officers had noted was broken, and the defendant produced a pistol and fired multiple shots at the pickup.