Man charged after shooting incident

A Libby man on Sunday was charged with criminal endangerment after a property altercation with four other people led him to allegedly shoot their car four times and stab one tire with a kitchen knife.

David Charles Striplin, 53, of Libby, was charged on Sunday with two counts of felony criminal endangerment and one count of criminal mischief, a misdemeanor. His bond has been set at $335,000 and his next hearing is not scheduled at this time.

According to Lincoln County Sheriff’s call logs, a small child dialed 911 around 4 p.m. on Sept. 18, telling dispatch that people from Washington were inside her Dad’s house and were fighting. Two more 911 calls from the same area came in, but the first call didn’t go through and the second was able to transmit the initial complaint.

According to the affidavit from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, after securing the area, the officer learned that Striplin’s wife, who had separated from him and no longer lived at the residence, had decided to accept Striplin’s offer to let her retrieve her belongings from the property. She also brought along two other adults who used to live on the property, so that they too could retrieve their belongings, according to court documents. A fourth adult went along to assist.

In exchange for letting them retrieve their belongings, Striplin had expected them to bring his pickup back to the property.

When the party arrived, Striplin became upset about the condition of the pickup and arguing quickly ensued as, according to court documents, the parties didn’t get along well. Striplin’s wife and the two who used to live at the residence began to try and load their belongings into the two vehicles that were brought along. Striplin then allegedly began assaulting one of the two men who used to live at the property before Striplin’s wife and another man intervened.

According to court documents, Striplin accused the two men of beginning the altercation. After his wife intervened, the group began loading up their things again so they could leave.

After this, Striplin reportedly grabbed his .22-caliber rifle and advanced toward his wife’s car, firing at least one round in the air. When the wife and one of the other party members were standing near the car, Striplin reportedly fired at least four rounds into the car, with one aimed at the radiator which caused minor damage to the car. Three of the four shots were then reportedly aimed at the front right tire and caused it to deflate. Striplin also reportedly tried to stab as least one car tire with a kitchen knife.

According to the affidavit, Striplin said he disabled the car because they had taken his air conditioner.

By the time officers arrived, Striplin was disarmed and the rifle was locked within the car. The child was inside the neighbor’s house. Two ambulances were called to the scene to transport two separate individuals. Striplin was charged and arrested at the scene.

If convicted, Striplin faces a maximum of $101,500 and 20 years, six months in prison.

He waved his preliminary rights in his initial hearing, and the next hearing is not set yet.

Reporter Bethany Rolfson may be reached at 293-4124 or by email at Reporter@TheWesternNews.com.