Charland freed on bail after gun incident

A Northwest Montana man is free on bail after a recent shooting incident in Flathead County.

Glen Steve Charland, 56, is facing one felony count of criminal endangerment after law enforcement officials said he fired a 12-gauge shotgun at a man who had stopped to move a dead deer from U.S. 2 West during a Nov. 15 incident.

The incident led to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team responding.

Charland was taken into custody “after the use of less lethal munitions,” Sheriff Brian Heino said.

The incident began at about 11 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15 when the Sheriff’s Office received a report of a disturbance with a weapon in the 2600 block of U.S. 2 West. Deputies arrived on scene and spoke with a man and woman who said they had stopped to pull a deer off the highway when someone shot at them.

Deputies arrived on scene with Montana Highway Patrol.

An investigation determined the suspect, later identified as Charland, was in a camper on a nearby property, the press release said.

Law enforcement attempted to negotiate with the subject, who refused to come out of the trailer. SWAT responded to the scene and a search warrant was obtained.

According to court documents, the man who Charland allegedly shot at said the first shot struck the ground near him and the second hit him in the chest.

The man then said he drove to the weigh station and called police. A deputy checked the man for injuries, but didn’t see any wounds. He then drove to the area where the shooting occurred and found two 12-gauge shotgun shells.

Authorities said they found a 12-gauge shotgun inside Charland’s camper.

The narrative of the Sheriff’s Office dispatch logs, the man who called 911 said a man “came out and started shooting on the north side of the road.” The man was yelling, but it was unknown what he was saying. The narrative also stated the man allegedly was “hit with shrapnel in the stomach from a bullet.” Charland was held at the Flathead County jail on $25,000 bail before he posted it Nov. 19.

Under the terms of his bail conditions, Charland is required to live at a residence in the 2000 block of Snowshoe Road in Libby. He is not allowed to possess any firearm or have contact with the alleged victims. He also must wear a monitoring device.

Charland is scheduled to be arraigned in Flathead County District Court at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19.

Charland is facing 10 years in the Montana State Prison.