Troy man pleads not guilty to four counts stemming from Dirty Shame Saloon incident

A Troy man on Monday pleaded not guilty in Montana 19th Judicial District Court in Libby to two felony counts and two misdemeanors stemming from a Nov. 25 incident at the Dirty Shame Saloon in Yaak in which he allegedly threatened owner John Runkle both verbally and with a firearm.

Nathan W. Norman, 42, pleaded not guilty to assault with a weapon and attempted assault with a weapon — both felonies — and to the misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.

For each felony, Norman faces the possibility of no more than 20 years imprisonment in the state prison, a maximum fine of $50,000 or both. He faces up to six months in county jail, a maximum fine of $500 or both for criminal trespass, and a maximum fine of $100 for disorderly conduct if convicted of either of those counts.

According to court documents, Norman was charged with assault with a weapon for verbally threatening Runkle with a firearm and later pointing the firearm at Runkle. The attempted assault with a weapon count arose from Norman’s having “laid in wait outside Runkle’s place of business in a position of tactical advantage with two loaded firearms, both of which had live rounds in the chamber.”

Norman was charged with criminal trespass for not leaving the bar after Runkle asked him to, and with disorderly conduct for threatening to fight.

The disturbance at the Dirty Shame Saloon was reported shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 25. According to the affidavit of probable cause for arrest prepared by Lincoln County Sheriff Deputy Boyd White, Runkle had asked Nathan Norman and his brother Michael Norman to leave the bar for harassing Nathan Norman’s former girlfriend. Nathan Norman, whose blood alcohol count was later determined to be .143 according to Boyd’s full incident report, threatened Runkle, who then sprayed the Norman brothers with bear spray.

White’s report contained an allegation that surveillance video showed that Nathan Norman had pointed a gun at Runkle before Norman left in a truck with his brother, then returned in the truck to the Dirty Shame Saloon, exited the vehicle with two firearms, and went up a hill behind the bar and hid in what White described as a depression in the ground within 50 yards from the building.

White and Lincoln County Sheriff Deputy Brent Faulkner found Nathan Norman there with a handgun and an “AR 15 type rifle,” both loaded.

Justice of the Peace Jay Sheffield originally set Nathan Norman’s bail at $15,000 on Nov. 27. Sheffield increased the amount to $100,000 on Nov. 29 after Lincoln County Attorney Marcia Boris earlier that day filed a motion to increase his bail “to an amount which is sufficient to ensure public safety and the safety of the victim in this matter,” the motion states.

In a brief supporting her motion, Boris wrote that when the original bail was set the County Attorney’s office had not yet received any information from law enforcement regarding the incident. The office received White’s report on Nov. 28.

Norman was released after posting a $200,000 property bond on Dec. 1. His next court appearance is an omnibus hearing on March 3.

He is represented by Libby attorney Ann German.